Constants
by tarienn
Summary: We all have those in our lives that are always there. Gideon Grey had a troubled childhood and those troubles would have followed into adulthood. Because of one little lamb, a single constant, he's willing to do one of the hardest thing any mammal has to do: Change.But, when his constant becomes lost, pulled under by the harsh tides of reality, can Gideon be a constant in return?
1. Carrot Days

**Notes:**

Constants occurs at the same time as Contrasts, and will be intersecting at some point(spoiler!). As with my other romance fanfiction, it is very slow burn, and is canon compliant. So hope you settle in for the long ride! I will be updating Constants monthly. I hope you all enjoy Constants!

* * *

 _Friday, May 24th, 20W2_

 _Late Morning_

 _Bunnyburrow, Hares Crossing Fairgrounds_

"Ow! Cut it out, Gi-deon!" Sharla shouted, or rather, raised her voice as high as she could raise it. Which wasn't very high, considering it was Gideon Grey she was attempting to yell at.

"Bah-ah, _bah-ah_ , what're ya gonna do, _cry_?" He mocked as he snatched the colorful carnival tickets from her hooves and pocketed them into the front of his overalls.

"Hey!" A voice came from behind Sharla. The conflict paused as they saw the young bunny, Judy Hopps, approaching in her cop uniform from the stage play earlier. She was tiny, yet authoritative. "You heard her. Cut it out."

Gideon was having none of this nonsense.

"Nice costume, _loser._ " He taunted, "What crazy world are you living in where you think a _bunny_ could be a cop?" He nearly let loose a load of spit as he shouted the last word.

"Kindly return my friends' tickets." She sternly commanded, holding out her paw at Gideon.

"Come and get 'em…" He patted the tickets in his front pocket, smiling mockingly before his face quickly turned aggressive. He began advancing towards her menacingly. "But watch out, 'cause I'm a fox— and like you said in your dumb little stage play, us predators used to _eat_ prey!" He brandished his claws and bared his teeth. "And that killer instinct's still in our Dunnahh."

"Uh," Travis started, Gideon's shady ferret lackey. "I'm pretty much sure it's pronounced D-N-A."

Gideon swatted a paw at Travis, causing him to flinch. "Don't tell me what I know, Travis."

"You don't scare me, Gideon." Judy announced bravely.

Gideon's shove came swiftly, knocking the rabbit clean off her feet. She hit the ground with a thump, knocking the wind out her lungs. Sharla and the other kids gasped in horror, and took off for the safety of a nearby tree.

"Scared now?!" Gideon barked, as Judy lifted herself to face him, eyes glossy, full of tears, nose twitching beyond her control.

"Lookit her nose twitch," Travis taunted from behind Gideon. "She _is_ scared!"

"Cry little baby bunny," Gideon said mockingly, hunched over his victim. "Cry, cry—"

And just as suddenly as he had pushed her, Judy retaliated. She bucked up her legs and shoved them straight into his muzzle, sending him reeling back. Sharla and the other onlooking children gasped from the behind the tree, all eyes wide with shock.

Gideon checked his lip for blood, finding none, before he returned his focus to the feisty rabbit. His eyes were filled with anger.

"Oh, you don't know when to quit, do ya?" He said, flicking out his sharp claws threateningly. Judy froze in terror at the sight of them, her breath quickened.

 _Gideon, stop!_ Sharla screamed in her mind, her heart beating ever faster. She was too paralyzed to vocalize what she was thinking, too scared to stand in solidarity with her friend. _No, no, no, please, you can keep my tickets, just leave Judy alone!_

Gideon growled and with a deft swipe of his claw, he drew blood from her cheek.

Sharla couldn't watch, she covered her eyes. It didn't stop Judy's scream from filling the air, burrowing into her mind. Judy had come to stand up for her, to protect her, but now… Sharla was powerless, she couldn't do the same for Judy.

She kept her eyes closed, unable to look at what Gideon would do next. More sounds of distress came from her friend.

 _Stop,_ She pleaded, still unable to speak up from behind the safety of the tree. _Gideon, that's enough!_

"I want you to remember this moment," She heard Gideon snarl. "The next time you think you will **ever** be more than just a _stupid,_ carrot-farming, _dumb bunny_!"

Sharla opened her eyes to Gideon high-fiving Travis, laughing, and walking away from the hurt Judy that still lay on the ground, holding a paw to her cheek. They abandoned the tree to run over to their friend, who was wiping blood away from fresh tears left by Gideon's claws.

"That looks ba-d," Sharla's brother Gareth said, concerned.

"Are you OK, Judy?!" Sharla asked urgently, her heart still pumping. _Judy, I'm so sorry!_

"Yeah…" Judy said in a weary voice, sitting up. "Yeah, I'm okay." She pulled out a stash of tickets she was hiding beneath her, pilfered from Gideon. "Here you go."

The children gasped.

"Wow!" Sharla exclaimed, amazed. "You got our tickets!"

 _All this trouble, over some carnival tickets._

"You're awesome, Judy!" Gareth marveled, clearly in awe of the aspiring rabbit cop.

"Yeah!" Sharla said, agreeingly. "That Gideon Grey doesn't know what he's talkin' 'bout!"

Judy dusted herself off, "Well, he was right about one thing," she said walking over to her fallen hat and picking it up. She donned it once again, a determined smug on her face. "I don't know when to quit!"

Sharla nodded in agreement. "If there's anyone that'll prove that a rabbit can be a police officer, it's _you_ , Judy!"

 _And maybe one day, I'll prove that a meek sheep like me can be an astronaut…_

"Judy!" An older female voice called from behind them. Sharla spun around to look— Judy's parents. A mortified look overtook their faces as they saw the fresh claw marks left on Judy's cheek. "What happened— _who_ did this?!"

* * *

 _4 Years later_

 _Monday, December 18th, 20W6_

 _After school_

 _Bunnyburrow, Homesteads_

"I don't know if I should tell her…" Gareth said solemnly. "What if she says no? Wow, I would die right there…"

"You're twelve…" Sharla said back to her brother, not sure how their conversation strolled into his crush on his lab partner. " _She's_ twelve… or somewhere around there. Unless she's moving away, none of us are going _anywhere_ for a while."

The two were walking home with Carmen Hopps, who had been their long time tagalong companion. It wasn't until a few months ago that she had even begun to feel comfortable enough talking with them, sometime after her ninth birthday.

"You think you have it bad," Carmen spoke up, "There's a high schooler that has a crush on me…"

"Ew!" Gareth and Sharla said in unison.

"I think I'm related to him, too…" Carmen shuddered. "He _creeps me out_." She laughed.

"OK, you see?" Sharla said teasingly to her brother. "At least the girl you have a crush on is in your class, and not in pre-school."

They were nearing the rabbit homesteads. Large mound-shaped homes in the ground that the expansive families of rabbits usually shared. Sharla and Gareth both lived in the suburbs nearby, but they typically walked Carmen home when Judy or one her other siblings weren't able to walk with her.

A short overland train bridge temporarily shaded them from the warm winter sun. It didn't snow in Bunnyburrow, thanks to the weather control barrier that kept farming weather in service year-round.

"Uh, oh…" Gareth said suddenly.

"Hmm?" Sharla said, curious, looking ahead.

"I think I hear something," He mumbled. "Something ba-ad."

Sure enough, someone or, _someones_ came from behind a pillar that held up the far side of the train bridge. Not just any someones… Gideon Grey and Travis Miles. They were bantering and laughing, although Gideon's laugh could be taken as an insidious cackle, as if he had just finished poking an injured bird.

"It's just the _un-wondertwins_ ," She said, unyielding. "I'm not scared of them." She kept her pace, with Gareth and Carmen lagging slightly behind.

"Uhh-hh," Gareth bleated worryingly, then started whispering "That's good n' all, Sharla— B-but I-I— _am_ "

Carmen did what she usually did when nervous: she stopped talking, but quickly caught up to Sharla, as if to prove that she wasn't scared either.

"Just stick with me," Sharla said simply, bundling her cloven hooves into fists. She neared the laughing hoodlums, the small one was just that— small, but annoying. The larger one seemed to tower ever larger as she closed the distance between them.

Puberty had struck Gideon about a year ago, so he had become rather taller and bulkier. Even with their age difference only being about sixteen months, Sharla was dwarfed in comparison.

"Oh, well ,look who it is!" Gideon said loudly and obnoxiously. "It's the _loser_ squad. You three hang out so much that I can _smell_ how kickable you guys are."

"Back off, Gideon," Sharla demanded, attempting to walk by. She was quickly blocked as Gideon walked in front of her.

" _Oooo_!" Travis said, giggling. "She's getting pretty feisty, maybe we should teach them a lesson!"

Gareth and Carmen awkwardly took shelter behind the unflinching Sharla. She had had quite enough of Gideon picking on other kids.

"Gi-ideon," She said, puffing out her chest defiantly. "We're just trying to go home, now cut it out and—"

"Oh, oh, how _rude_ of me!" Gideon mocked, "Why, this is all just a little misunderstandin'. Ya see, I have no intention of gettin' in your way."

"Good," she said, unimpressed. "Then get _out of it_." She tried to walk around him again.

"Ah, ah," Gideon said, side stepping and blocking her way again. He didn't like how resistant Sharla was being, he didn't like this one bit. " _Wow_ , I was just gonna give you guys a hard time, scare ya a bit." He put his paws on his knees and bent down to her eye level. "But now you've gone and got me all upset." he frowned.

"Uh, oh," Travis squawked, "She asked for it."

 _Gideon…_ she thought, her knees starting to shake, she fought hard to steady them. _Why are you like this?_

"Now," Gideon said, holding out a paw and rubbing his clawed fingers together. "If you go under this here bridge, it's gonna cost ya."

"Gi-deon!" Sharla shouted softly, which was about her top volume. Gareth and Carmen watched with wide eyes as she stood up to the towering bully. She could feel herself getting light headed, her heart was pounding, unbelieving that she was standing up to him. She started to bleat her speech. "We've go-one under this bridge e-everyday for the past three years, I-I-I shouldn't have to—"

"Didn't ya hear?" he interrupted, catching on to her failing tough persona, "This is my little patch of road now. Ya like it? It's nice and shady, you can hear the train whiz by overhead. It's gotta price: fifty bucks!"

"I-I don't ha-ave—" Sharla started.

"She doesn't have to pay you anything!" A voice came from behind Gideon. He stood up straight and looked behind him. The other kids looked around his girth to see who the challenger was.

"Oh, look, another _loser._ " Gideon chuckled hardily. "Seems everyone's linin' up to pay my fee today. What ever will I be buying with these profits?"

"Kindly step out of my friends' way," Judy said sternly as walked around Gideon and stood next to Sharla with crossed arms.

 _Judy, you're here to stand up for me again,_ Sharla thought, feeling more confident, her nervousness dissipating. _No, this time, I'll stand up with you. I'm not hiding this time._

"Yeah, Gii-deon!" Sharla proudly declared, "We don't need to pay you anything. Stop being such a bully!"

"Hmm, you think I'm a bully, eh?" Gideon snarled, then turned to Judy, "What about you? You got some kinda beef with me? Your parents gonna come knock on my door with the cops again if I don't do what you tell me?"

"My parents called the police because I was assaulted, Gideon." Judy said back, no hint of timidness in her as she stared him in the eyes. "And that won't be happening again. I'll repeat myself, step out of the way _now_."

"I'll deal with you later," Gideon pointed a threatening finger in Judy's face. "You think you're some kinda hotshot because you been workin' out, going _rock climbing?_ I'm still much bigger than you, don't you forget it." He shifted his focus to Sharla. "And _you_ , if you don't got the fifty bucks, let's see what else ya got!"

And with that, his claw whipped around Sharla, grabbing onto her backpack.

"He-ey!" She shouted, "Get off!" She struggled to back away, to stop Gideon from opening her bag, but he only pulled harder. The other children could only watch, unable to process this new struggle. Travis was wide eyed, yet grinning.

"Hey!" Judy yelled, she readied herself. "Get off her! I'm warning you, Gideon!"

 _I'm not letting you treat me like this!_

She gave one final push, and Gideon pulled her bag in turn. Her backpack, unable to withstand the stress of two pulling forces, gave way. The bag tore at the seam in a lower corner, causing its contents to spill out onto the ground.

Sharla could only look down at the mess.

Then, suddenly, as quickly as the tear in her bag had appeared, Judy had jumped up to the support column, then leapt from it, and collided, rabbit feet-first directly into Gideon's jaw. Gideon tumbled to the ground with a painful yelp.

He tried to get to his feet, anger driving him. Judy deftly put her foot on his back, twisting a swiping arm backwards, causing him to let out another painful groan.

"Ah-ah-agh!" Gideon whimpered.

"I warned you," Judy said sternly. The other children, including Sharla, could only stare in disbelief.

"Get offa me!" He shouted, careful not to struggle. "It hurts!"

"Calm down, and I will," Judy shot back.

 _Oh, Gideon,_ Sharla thought, with a mix of pity and disdain. _Why do you pick fights like this?_

"Agh! Travis, help me!" He hissed.

"I, uh- Gid, yo-you know I'm no good at these physical tussles!"

"No one's going to help you but yourself, Gideon Grey" Judy said, patiently waiting for him to relent. "Apologize to Sharla, and calm down, _then_ you can get up." She increased the bend on his arm almost effortlessly.

Gideon breathed heavily onto the sidewalk, "OK! OK! Sharla, I'm sorry! Agh!"

With that, Judy released him. Gideon scrambled to his feet, clearly embarrassed, and beaten.

"This isn't over!" He spat, as he hurried away, across to the other side of the street. "You will _never_ be a bunny cop, y-you hear me!" He shouted back. Travis wasn't far behind, in fact, it didn't take long for Travis to make it far beyond him.

Sharla didn't say anything, she merely started picking up the spilled contents of her bag.

"Are you OK?" Judy asked, kneeling over to help pick up her books. Sharla sniffed, almost ready to cry. She was embarrassed, exhausted from the confrontation.

"Y-yeah," Gareth chimed in, the reality of what had happened still processing. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"I'm… I'm OK." Sharla nodded quickly a few times, fighting back the tears. "He didn't hurt me, just my bag."

It was a lie. Gideon had hurt more, _far_ more than her backpack.

* * *

 _2 Days later_

 _Wednesday, December 20th, 20W6_

 _After Lunch_

 _Bunnyburrow, Evanbrooke Jr. High School_

"I'll see you after school," Sharla spoke loudly across the crowded school hallway to her friend, "I just need to grab something from my locker."

With her bag still torn from Monday's incident, she was left carrying her books around herself. It was a cumbersome exercise.

Making her way to her locker, she noticed something… someone: Gideon Grey. He towered among the other students, rivaling even the taller antelope or deer students. Yet, in a school with a mostly bunny student body, he was easy to spot. He was standing near her locker.

 _Oh, no…_ Sharla grimaced, her heart beating faster at the thought of what retaliation he had in store for her. _Please, Gideon, just leave me alone…_

He spotted her and quickly, but awkwardly, made his way over to her. She turned away, not wanting any of his harassment today.

"Sharla," Gideon called.

She didn't respond, her clacking hooves against the tile floor only quickened, gently dodging the other students in the hall.

"Sharla, wait!" He called again, much closer.

 _No, don't run, stand up to him again. Show him that you don't need Judy to defend you!_

Resolute, she took in a breath, and turned around, her books still clutched to her chest.

"Gi-deon, I don't want any trouble." She said, as he approached her. There was something in his paw.

"Here…" He said bluntly. He shoved a bright blue and grey backpack in front of her.

Sharla stared at the backpack for a moment as he held it out awkwardly. With one hoof on her books, the other cautiously reached out for it, taking it.

"I don't—" She managed to let out, before Gideon turned around and briskly padded away, shoulders stiff.

The backpack was brand new, the brand tag still dangling from its shoulder strap. And it was sheep-sized, much too small for Gideon to wear.

 _He bought me a—_ Sharla looked it over, cautiously. _**Gideon Grey**_ _bought me a backpack?_

She looked around. He was nowhere to be found.

Turning back to the bag, she knelt down and placed her books on the floor. She examined the new backpack, just slightly worried that he had done something horrible to it. Was it a trick?

The fresh zipper glided open as she peered inside. Its contents were: a box of oat and cheese crackers, a small bag of alfalfa hay cookies, and a torn piece of lined paper.

She covered her mouth in confusion, trying to process what he had done. Gideon had filled the backpack with a few treats, and… a note. Reaching in, she took out the small piece of paper.

 _Im sorry_

The adrenaline from before was still coursing through her body, her hooves shaking just slightly. She didn't know what to think. Was it genuine? Was it a set up for another extortion later? Maybe he had stolen it and would report her as an accomplice… But what to make of the note?

It didn't make any sense.

* * *

The years rolled by. Gideon kept his distance from Sharla and her friends, and she almost forgot about him.

But sometimes, there are mammals you just never fully forget.

And while they weren't friends, Sharla and Gideon would sometimes trade a passing glance in their years in Junior High School, and shortly after, High School.

She would catch him in the lunchroom, on the way home, in the hallway. He often gave an awkward smile, or, if it was a good day, he would even say, "Hi". But he never tried to bully her again, whether out of fear of retaliation from Judy or… a silly thought sometimes crossed Sharla's mind. Was it remorse?

Sharla even caught herself looking for him now and then. Even though she had nothing to say, she would still look. And she could have sworn… maybe… he looked for her too.

* * *

 _5 More years later_

 _Saturday, October 22nd, 20X1_

 _Morning_

 _Bunnyburrow, Bunnyburrow Junction Train station_

"Hey— uh, hey…" A voice came from behind. An older voice, deeper, one she hadn't heard in a while.

Sharla turned around, only to look slightly upward.

"Gi-ideon?" She said, giving a slight smile. "Gideon Grey. Wasn't expecting you."

He had grown, but she had as well. Having hit puberty herself some years ago, he no longer towered over her as he did when they were children. He was still taller to be sure, but she now came up to his chin.

"Yea— yeah…" He said nervously. "I, uh… I thought I'd come and… say goodbye… seeing as how I didn't say nothin' to ya at graduation an' all…"

Sharla gripped the handle on her suitcase a little tighter. She was unsure what to say, so she averted her eyes instead.

"I, uh," Gideon stuttered. "I just saw Judy came by, looks like she already said her goodbyes and…"

"Are you… _scared_ of Judy?" Sharla glanced at Gideon again, giving a nervous laugh. "You don't need to avoid her, you know."

"Oh, uh," he scratched the back of his head. "I know but, uh, it's just… I didn't wanna cause ya any trouble before you left on your trip— so, uh…"

Sharla gripped her suitcase's handle with both hooves in front of her. She hadn't really told him where she was going. They didn't have much opportunity to talk. After all, she was in advanced placement classes and Gideon… It's not that he was dumb, or found school challenging, he just didn't try at first. But Gideon recently had a change of heart and managed to turn his school work around just in time for graduation.

"You want to know where I'm going?" She asked, figuring that's why he was there.

"Uh… y-yeah…" Gideon said bashfully. "You going to college or…?"

"I've enlisted in the Unified Air Front." She said, more bluntly that she had meant to. "I'm going to Pawstin, Ibexas to be stationed at Percheron Airbase."

"Th-the _Air Front_?" He said, his jaw hung, almost in shock. "You joined the Armed Forces? I-in Ibexas?"

"That's right," she nodded, "They have a higher education plan for Biomechanical Engineering. I figured it'd be the perfect opportunity to get me into the space program. You know… It's always been that silly dream of mine." She let out a another nervous laugh.

Gideon stared for a moment, processing what she had said. Again, he wasn't dumb, but the concept of Bio-mecha-whoozit escaped him. Whatever it was, Sharla was leaving to pursue her dream.

"I'm happy for ya, darlin'," he said, though a hint of sadness showed through, "And it ain't no silly dream. Always knew you'd be the one to make it to outer space. You were one of the more brighter ones here, real smart."

"Thank you, that's nice of you to say," she said sincerely. It was odd getting such a sweet complement from Gideon Grey. "It was a really tough decision, knowing I'd leave home behind and move to a new territory. But, um… I should get going. The train leaves in a few minutes. Thanks for coming to see me off!"

There was an air of awkwardness around Gideon, an aura he normally didn't give off. She turned around after a beat, and headed for the waiting train.

"Wh-wait!"

Sharla turned to face him again. "Hmm?"

"I, uh…", Gideon stammered again, he rubbed his paws together, as if the friction in his paws would help him speak. "How long will you be gone?"

"Seven years."

 _Seven years…_ the words rung in his head.

"Will ya…" He paused awkwardly, unsure what he was trying to ask. "You'll come back n' visit your old home, right?"

Sharla smiled then gave a simple answer, a nod.

He awkwardly returned the smile as she turned around and entered the train, the door closing quickly behind her. His own reflection shown in the window, the morning sun glaring off it. He didn't see Sharla, but he waved into the train nonetheless. His wave slowed, the sight of himself waving making him feel self-conscious. Why _had_ he come to see Sharla off? Did he say what needed to be said? Maybe. At the very least, he had said his goodbyes.

He turned around. The train made some whirring noises as it sped down the track. A few mammals still wandered around the train station made for bunnies, but he paid them no mind. He stared out in to the farming fields as he walked, the distant mountains, the sparse trees. They were empty, all of it. Nothing in the fields, no clouds in the morning sky.

Everyone was leaving. Sharla, Gideon's brother and sister… Even Travis was leaving in a few weeks to attend some fancy school up in the Northern Federation for "Cell… cellular pharma—whooza-cology" or some such.

It's not like he had spoken much with Travis lately, anyway. Unlike Gideon, Travis had more or less excelled in school, and the two eventually fell out of contact. Still though, Gideon hadn't had many close friends in his time in Bunnyburrow, and the wake of Travis leaving stung.

He ambled to the parking lot of the train station, still caught up in his own thoughts. Reaching into his pocket for his keys, he walked up to his truck. Rather, his mother's truck, and looked into the driver's side windshield. There it was again: his reflection. He _had_ aged, grown into a fine looking young fox, albeit rather portly. But for all the change, all the self-improvement he had strived for in the past year— Was it enough? Everyone was leaving and he was still here, in Bunnyburrow.

A single question entered his mind as he slid the key into the door.

 _What do I do now?_


	2. Hopeful Days

**Notes:**

I got a horrible head cold while writing this chapter, also it's with two characters who are not as developed as Nick and Judy. So I'm hoping I did OK!… My nose is so full… How can it be so full? I've been blowing it for hours!

* * *

 _The next year_

 _Thursday, July 12th, 20X2_

 _Evening_

 _Kodiak Cafe, Bunnyburrow_

 _Sharla's first visit_

"Someone out front asking for you, Grey."

"For me? Who is it?" Gideon asked.

"I dunno. Some army sheep girl." The lynx waiter said. "Seems nice, don't keep her waiting." He patted Gideon on the shoulder before walking out of the kitchen.

"Y-yeah, thanks." Gideon nodded, putting down the dish he was washing. He dried his hands on a nearby towel.

 _Sharla?_ he thought, only knowing one sheep in the armed forces.

He doubted she would actually want to visit him, a girl he mistreated during his childhood. It seemed like so long ago that she had left on the train to Ibexas to join the Air Front. He even thought that she had forgotten about him, a fact he wouldn't have held against her. But there she was, sitting on a bar stool just beyond the kitchen's exit.

She noticed him immediately, her attention taken from the sugar shaker she had been absentmindedly pushing around with her hoof. She stood up, giving a strained smile.

Gideon returned the smile, feeling guilty for her taking time from her busy life to see him in this backwater diner.

"Sharla…" he said, taking in how different she looked.

"Hello, Gi-deon." She said, nervously sliding her hoof along the countertop.

Gideon admittedly hadn't changed much in the year she had been gone, other than putting on a few extra pounds. But in Sharla's case, it was quite the contrary. She was obviously taller, almost but not quite as tall as Gideon now. The wool on her head and cheeks was sheared short, inline with what one would expect for someone in the armed forces. She wore a simple white t-shirt and a short-sleeved denim jacket. Her brown Capri shorts revealed her black, wool-less legs, undoubtedly another requirement of being in the Air Front.

"You, uh…" Gideon started, still amazed at how much Sharla had changed. "You look well. It's nice to see ya."

"Oh, thank you," she said, "It's nice to see you, too."

"Looks like the Air Front's been treatin' you well," Gideon complimented, scratching his ear, "How's that been? Everything ya hoped?"

"It's been great! Well— I-I mean you know, after basic training. I feel like it's been the right step to take— despite how hard it's been." She rubbed her bare elbow. She had changed so much. She looked tougher, stronger, and nearly wool-less. Gideon suddenly felt self-conscious that he had let his own fitness go by the wayside while she had done quite the opposite. "But um, how about you? How's working in a kitchen? You cook anything special, or…?"

"A-Are ya hungry?" He offered after a pause, "I can whip you up somethin' nice, on the house."

"Oh, um, no that's OK, I don't want to impose or—"

"Ain't no trouble," he assured, waving a paw, "'sides, 'place is slow this late in the day, plus you can try my cooking. C'mon, least I can do for the service you provide the Territories 'n all."

Sharla gave a shy smile and looked toward the floor. Despite her tougher, more dutiful appearance, she was still Sharla. "Yeah, I guess I'm a bit hungry, if you really don't mind. Thank you, Gideon."

He put his paws together, "Sit tight then, I'll be back with some grub real quick."

With that, he walked back into the kitchen.

Sharla looked around the diner. It was a small country diner with worn seats and faded paint on the sun-facing wall, not much to look at but cozy. The lynx waiter took her drink order and presented her with a piping hot alfalfa tea. The sun was setting outside, giving the sky a deep orange color that shone in through the windows. There were only a few other customers enjoying their meals, quietly chatting.

Bunnyburrow hadn't changed much. Admittedly she hadn't been paying much attention to what _had_ changed, only what had stayed the same.

It was nice being home again, after what seemed like both an eternity and only a short while, all-in-the-same. The mammals that lived there were far from the same however; friends had grown, moved on, started families, some of her friends had even moved onto other territories far from home. Just as she had.

Sharla knew that she had changed, and she was all the better for it. She was no longer the meek little girl that could be pushed around by mere bullying. Sharla was confident, capable, strong.

And in spite of herself, here she was. Visiting her childhood bully.

Gideon came out from the kitchen, this time with a plate.

"Here you go," he said, placing the plate in front of her next to her tea. "Hope ya like it— it-it-it's a special recipe I've been playin' with and the daytime manager said he might even put it on the menu." He chuckled unevenly before deciding he was better off not laughing.

The plate contained a very thick slice of bread, or perhaps it was cake? It looked fluffy and soft, tinted pink. On the side was what seemed to be a salad made of forbs and slices of mango, drizzled with an orange sauce.

"Wow," she remarked sincerely, "Gideon, this looks _delicious_ , did you make this?" She picked up a fork, still observing the fluffy looking bread, half expecting it to float away.

"Th-th-that I did," he grinned, leaning in to the dish to explain it, "Ya see that there's a tomato cake I've been working on. Usually goes good with mashed potatoes but uh, I know you armed forces types need to watch the carbs, so I made up a little salad with fruit added in. That dressing there is mint and clementine… I-I hope ya like it."

* * *

"You know," Sharla explained as the two walked along the sidewalk, street lamps barely turning on. "I think you make a _great_ cook."

"R—real— you mean that?" Gideon stuttered.

"Absolutely, I've never had anything like that tomato cake before. I didn't even know you could make a cake out of tomatoes."

After her meal, Gideon asked to get off early to walk Sharla home, or rather, to her childhood home, where she was only staying for her visit. He had taken off his water-stained apron, revealing his red flannel shirt and overalls, which Sharla found amusing. Even with his new found cooking skills and extra weight, Gideon was still, strangely, Gideon, albeit tamer, more timid and… gentler.

"Well, heck, I sure do appreciate it," He said, watching the grass encrusted cracks in the well worn sidewalk they traveled. "I don't think my cookin's anything special. Just something I've been doing because it keeps me busy."

"I really mean it," she assured, "There are restaurants in Ibexas that could learn a thing from your cooking, believe me."

"Ah, don't flatter me none, it'll go right to my head." He laughed, "Ibexas been good for you, then?"

"Hmm," She thought, not quite sure how to answer. To be sure, Ibexas was different, nothing like Bunnyburrow in any sense, but every place had their ups and downs. "There's a lot more predators. And you know what they say; everything's bigger in Ibexas. The trucks, the food, the houses. The food was probably the toughest thing I had to get used to."

"How do you mean?" Gideon questioned, "D-does it taste _bad_? Different kinds of seasonings?"

"For one thing, I found out the hard way that Ibexan pancakes have grilled chicken meat in them."

" _Meat_ in _pancakes_?" Gideon said, taken slightly aback, but grinning, "Now that's some darn foolishness if I ever heard it." He chuckled lightly.

"I know!" Sharla grinned, relieved that the awkwardness between them had dissipated, at least for this short while. "I was sick for a _week_! The master sergeant told me I couldn't leave the base unless I had someone else escort me to make sure I didn't eat anything with poultry or fish."

The two shared a meaningful giggle.

Eating meat was not unheard of, at least not in the Tri-burrows, which were technically part of the Zootopia territory. But due to the high prey population, fish and poultry were a pricey commodity for the predators willing to pay for it. But Ibexas and the Western Territories were a very different story.

Some time passed as the two walked in the deepening twilight, the few stores that were still open in this part of town closing down one-by-one. Sharla lived off near the rabbit homesteads, in a small neighborhood.

"You still live your parents?" Sharla asked, trying to fill the silence. Not that the silence was too uncomfortable.

"Mmm, no," Gideon shook his head. "No, I wanted to be a bit more uh, _independent_ I guess. I moved out into my own apartment, just a ways from the Bunnyburrow cinema. Well, suppose it's not really an apartment, jus' big enough for a fox like me. I like it just fine."

So many mammals had moved on from Bunnyburrow, going off to explore the world or find their future. But here was Gideon, who had been so different what seemed like not so long ago, the one who would torment her as a child. He was still here, despite only moving a few blocks from his childhood home. And yet, he was changed, even without leaving this place. Was the Gideon Grey she knew truly who walked beside her now?

She wanted to know what made him this way. She deserved to know, the memories of helplessness and fear surging up in her mind. With her newfound confidence and assertiveness, she found herself speaking up impulsively.

"Five years ago, when you stopped bullying me… What happened? Why the change?" She held her head high, keeping her voice even. She didn't want to give off the slightest hint of hesitation.

Gideon said nothing, only taking in a short breath and looking away after a beat.

"I-I mean i-if you…" Sharla bleated, slightly regretting her question. "If you don't want to talk about it—"

"No, i-i-it's not that," Gideon's stutter reciprocated the feeling, "I mean… heck, I dunno. It was lots a' things, I guess…"

"Long story?" Sharla pressed, more gently this time.

"Ya could say that," he nodded, letting his head sink. The two turned a corner onto a quiet neighborhood. A car drove by, its headlights briefly illuminating the houses along the road. "A-a-and I realize that I caused you a lot of t-trouble back then, and I'm awful sorry."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad of it," she assured, while not quite satisfied with his response, "But we were just kids."

"No no, I mean it." His head sunk lower, "Not a day goes by that I-I don't regret the things I did."

"Gi-deon," she stepped in front of him to stop him, and he looked up at the sudden change. Her soft blue eyes, clearly visible to his heightened night vision, looked starkly into his. "What's done is done. If there's one thing that being in the Air Front taught me, is that things change. I changed, _you_ changed, so many of our old classmates changed— and we're all _still_ changing."

"I…" he started, not sure how to deal with Sharla's words. "It's just hard, dealin' with the past."

Sharla nodded, "I know it is, but while everything else is changing, you can't keep holding on to what you can't change. No amount of regret is going to reshape the past. What's done is done." A sour smile appeared on her face as the eye contact broke, her voice held just an edge of bitterness. "I forgive you Gideon. Besides, you made it up to me." She patted him on the shoulder, then started walking again.

"I did?" He asked after a pause, confused, quickly catching up to her.

"The delicious dinner you made for me tonight," She reminded, "And the backpack you bought me, the one you filled with those treats."

"You, uh, you 'member that huh?"

"Absolutely," she started, the memory coming back to her now, "Those… what were they, cheese and oat crackers? Delicious, never had anything like them. And the… the…"

"Alfalfa hay cookies?"

"That's it! Yes, those. _Amazing_. Never could find them in stores anywhere. Even in the bigger box stores like Woolmart, I guess they were discontinued." She sighed, nostalgic for the taste of the long gone treats. She had hidden them away from her brother even, keeping every last bite to herself.

"Well…" Gideon hesitated, "They weren't ever in stores."

Sharla paused, processing what he just said. "They weren't?"

"I made 'em," he said sheepishly.

She craned her head at him, " _Really?_ "

"I spent all my allowance on the bag, y'know, and… didn't seem right just handing it over with nothin' in it." He shrugged, trying to minimize what he'd done.

"Tuh! Well, I guess you've _always_ had a knack for cooking, then." she scoffed, "Never would have guessed. You know something? I still have that bag, too. Left it back in the barracks. Still good."

"R-Really? No kiddin'?" He asked, a tinge of pride showing through.

"It's a little too small for me now, so I modified it with a longer strap, you know, messenger bag style, for when I'm off base."

Gideon gave her a smile, impressed. "Well that's awful handy of ya. Glad they're teachin' ya well over there."

"Oh, it's nothing," Sharla shook her head bashfully. "Working on aircraft all day teaches you to use what you have. I see you've honed your skills in the meantime too, Mr. Chef."

"Ah, now what'd I say about flatterin' me," He scratched the back of his head, "You're startin' to sound like my folks. Always tellin' me I should make a career out of it."

"Why don't you?"

"Well, there's the million dollar question, darlin'. I-I mean I'd have to go to culinary school for it— and-and…"

" _Mmhmm_ , why don't you?" She repeated. "I saw how excited you got when I was about to try your dish."

"Heck, now you got these ideas in my head." He chuckled, "You really think I should?"

"You're clearly passionate about it. I think it would be a great idea."

With that, they had reached her house. A quaint two-story home that seemed… out-of-place next to the other pre-fabricated houses in the neighborhood. The surrounding area was once farmland, if Gideon recalled correctly, even before they were born.

"You, uh, got anything else planned while you're in town?" He asked, "Maybe you could stop by again before you leave? I'd make somethin' else up for you."

Sharla rubbed her arm, "I…"

"B-but if you don't, uh—" he suddenly felt self-conscious for having asked, "Didn't mean to put you on the spot—"

"No-no, it's not that." She assured, before taking in a breath, "I, um… I go back after tonight. Today was my last day in town."

"Oh."

"I didn't get much time for this visit but, um… next time. I'll stop by again next time I'm in town."

"I'll sure look forward to it then," He nodded, "Bring your appetite, I'll get even better and cook you up something special."

"Count on it. Thanks for walking me home." Sharla gave him a warm smile, "That was sweet of you."

"Don't think nothin' of it, sweetheart. It was nice seein' ya."

Sharla nodded, "You too. Good night, Gideon."

* * *

 _Late Night_

 _Gideon's studio apartment_

Gideon sighed as he closed the door. His eyes adjusted to the inside of his apartment as the light from the hallway disappeared behind him. A neon sign from a few stores down was blinking, temporarily illuminating the closed blinds of his window.

His apartment was small, but he liked to keep it tidy. His kitchen consisted of a fridge and a limited amount of counter space. A small sink was hidden away in the corner, with a single coffee cup as its contents. His bed was well made, and his outfit for the next day was already laid out atop his dresser. Beneath his single window was a short wire shelf crowded a variety of potted herbs and mint plants. His mother had always told him fresh ingredients made better food.

Pulling off his overalls, he placed them in his hamper and slumped onto his sofa.

He had not expected Sharla to visit him, but he was still grateful. It was nice to think that she had not forgotten him. He was happy to see how well she was doing for herself. Yet something still nagged at the back of his mind.

Sharla seemed strong, confident, and strangely… intimidating. She was following her dream, pushing herself, all while she was so far away from home.

Gideon on the other hand… Despite turning his life around, despite how hard he worked to not give into the self-doubt, anxiety, and anger that plagued his childhood, he was still here. He was still here while Sharla was off making her dream come true. Travis was using those smarts of his to… well, Gideon wasn't exactly sure what Travis was studying. Even Judy Hopps was off attending the Bunnyburrow community college for a degree in Criminal Justice. He knew she was still determined to join the Zootopia Police Academy afterwards, still chasing her lifelong dream.

But Gideon worked as a dishwasher during the off-hours shift at a small town diner. The manager let him cook for friends and family that came in, but never for actual customers.

He sat alone in his dark apartment, a light within him stirring. Sharla thought he could do it, so why couldn't he? Gideon's passion was cooking, and he was going to do whatever it took to be the best chef that Gideon could be. Excuses be damned.


	3. Brighter Days

Brighter Days

 _7 Months later_

 _Wednesday, February 20th, 20X3_

 _Evening_

 _Percheron Airbase, Ibexas_

"Package for you," The passerby tapir announced, tossing a moderately sized package onto Sharla's top level bunk as he passed by. "Smells good, you planning to share?" He chuckled, though he didn't stick around for an answer as he continued handing out mail to the other squad mates.

"A package that _smells_ good?" Sharla pondered aloud, wondering what her parents could've sent her.

She got up from her laying position and closed her book. Flipping over the package, she was surprised to note it was not from her parents… but from Gideon Grey.

 _Gideon sent me something?_ She thought, pulling her pocket knife from the grey and blue bag that hung from the post at the edge of her bed. She was driven by not only curiosity, but the enticing smell emanating from within.

Sharla deftly cut open the tape that bound the packaging and peered inside. She furrowed her brow at the déjàvu prodding her mind, for the package contained a nicely wrapped bag of what seemed to be alfalfa hay cookies, another bag, adorned with a red bow, filled with oat and cheese crackers… and a slip of paper.

She resisted the urge to immediately begin tasting the wonderful smelling treats and pulled out the note.

 _Sharla,_

 _I've enrolled in the University of Deerbrooke for their Culinary Arts program!_

 _I've actually been pondering on it for a while, but your visit last year really got me thinking. So I finally made the decision and it's all thanks to you, sweetheart. I can't tell you how much your encouragement meant to me._

 _Like I said before, I don't think of myself as a talented cook or nothing, but if you think I can make better of myself this way, then I'll do my very best._

 _I remember you saying that you liked the treats I made for you in jr. high school, so I was more than happy to make this batch up for you. I hope they're as good as you remember, the recipe might have changed over the years and such._

 _Even though I'm attending school in Coati Canyon, I still live here in Bunnyburrow. It's not a bad commute thanks to the train line. Be sure to stop by to visit if you want, there's a dish I've been wanting you to try that I think you'll love._

 _Anyhow, I hope you're doing well in the Air Front. I believe in you!_

 _Your friend,_

 _Gideon_

 _Friend?_ Sharla thought, remarking at how different Gideon was in his adulthood. How different their behavior towards each other was now, she smiled to herself, _We can be friends now, Gideon. After all these years, we can have a fresh start._

* * *

"You owe me push-ups, lieutenant." The towering lion captain said as he passed by Sharla on his way out of the emptying mess hall.

"Sir!" Sharla declared as she lowered herself to begin the exercise. She didn't argue, nor did she know the reason for the drill, but she at least knew better than to question a higher ranked officer.

He didn't stop to see if Sharla would actually start doing them, but wandered out of view as she pressed into the floor. Other mammals followed him out of the mess hall while Sharla stayed behind to exercise.

Doing drill exercises like this for over a year and a half had left Sharla now a far cry from the physical state she was in when she first arrived. She had not been in any kind of 'bad shape' when she came to Ibexas, but after months and months of hard work and training, she could now perform the harsh impromptu drills that were common in life on the base.

She continued doing them, not really thinking about much else but the count of her reps. Until.

"Stand up," The captain was back, towering over her.

Sharla complied quickly. Briskly standing and looking up at the tall lion.

"How many did you do?" He asked.

"Almost three hundred," She replied, her stamina and muscles feeling the burn of fatigue.

"Do you know why you had to do those?"

"No, sir." She said, looking up at him.

"You had cookies in the barracks." The captain took a sip from the coffee in his tin mug, "It's not against the rules to have chow in the barracks, but your bunk mate saw how many you ate. We don't much care for gluttony in this unit. Especially with all the time and effort we spent on training your sorry sheep rump."

"I— Sorry, sir. Won't happen again." She said respectfully.

"Good, give me a hundred more and you can go."

She nodded, lowering herself to the ground to do more reps.

 _Thanks a lot, Gideon,_ She joked, not really holding any resentment. _How was I supposed to resist against something that nostalgic?_

As she did her remaining exercises, she pondered on why she had eaten so many. Sharla didn't usually eat a lot, especially now that she was in the armed forces, where her meals were usually already prepared for her in the mess hall. Perhaps it was just the nostalgia, or the feeling of longing for that peculiar yet delectable taste of Gideon's homemade treats. Whatever the reason, she swore the cookies tasted even better than she remembered.

* * *

 _5 weeks later_

 _Tuesday, March 26th, 20X3 Winter_

 _Afternoon_

 _University of Deerbrooke, Coati Canyon_

Gideon adjusted his coat as he made his way down the frosty sidewalk, the snow fall was light, but it was enough to stick to the fabric of his coat.

The University of Deerbrooke was a huge campus built up in the mountains. The roads here were steep, with nearby houses and buildings built on just as steep of a slope. Gideon didn't envy the drivers who were constantly getting stuck in traffic around this time, especially the mammals with larger cars. Rodents didn't appear to have as much of an issue with traffic, however.

Coati Canyon was a heavily forested town, and one that didn't require much climate control, or rather, climate control didn't seem to do much controlling. Winter felt like winter, and summer felt like summer. Gideon knew because he had been attending religiously since a few weeks after Sharla's visit last year.

He grinned to himself. He was happy, life was good, and he finally felt like he truly was on the right track. Gideon found himself smiling more often as he finished his classes and left for the day.

"Gideon!" A voice called from behind, disrupting Gideon's self reflection. "Gideon, wait up!"

"Hmm?" He turned around to look uphill.

It was Sharla, though he squinted through the snowfall just to be sure. She was uphill, calling down from a platform overlooking this particular part of campus. Sharla had come to Coati.

 _Sharla's second visit_

"Sh-Sharla?" He shouted her name in confusion as she jogged the long trek down the winding sidewalk.

At last, she made her way down to him, not even winded from the obvious workout of navigating the steep walkways of the campus.

"Hey, Gideon," She said, a warm grin on her face as she removed her hood. She wore a fluffy white coat, its edges brimmed fluffy white, which contrasted against her bare black wrists, almost making it seem as if the fluff from the coat was her own wool. Despite her thick coat however, she wore some black Capris shorts, similar to the ones she wore during her last visit.

"Hey! Uh, h-hey," Gideon stuttered, still not quite believing she was here. "H-how, uh… How did you know to find me here?"

"Eh," Sharla shrugged, "I got your letter last month saying you got into the Culinary Arts program, so I just thought I'd come and congratulate you."

"Ahh," Gideon chuckled, "Darlin', you didn't have to do that."

"Well, I was planning this visit anyway, and the train comes through Coati on the way to Bunnyburrow anyway."

Gideon thought for a moment, "S-s-so you uh— You came here first?"

"Yep," Sharla said, looking away, "I was um… thought we could ride the train back to Bunnyburrow together, catch up along the way. I'd like to hear about what you've been doing while I was gone, sounds like you've been _really_ busy."

"Y-yeah, well," Gideon in fact, _had_ been pretty busy. A lot had happened while she was away, and while he was proud of what he had accomplished, Gideon wasn't really one to brag. Although, one could argue that he didn't brag because he didn't have many to brag to, other than his family, "…Uh, s-sure. I'd like that."

"Great! C'mon, then." She jogged past him in the direction of the train station, which wasn't too far of a walk from their current location.

"W-wait!" Gideon said as he caught up with her.

* * *

"Aren't ya cold?" Gideon asked, his paws clasped together as the two sat together on the somewhat crowded train. Many mammals were standing, but they had managed to get a seat together.

"Hmm?"

"Are you, uh… you seem a little cold. What with your wool being… um… and you wearin' shorts and all." Gideon suddenly felt embarrassed for asking, bringing attention to the fact that he had noticed Sharla's bare legs.

"Yeah," she admitted, lifting her legs onto her seat and rubbing them with both hooves for warmth. "A little. Ibexas is pretty hot year round, so I keep myself sheared, and I don't really have many winter clothes. Luckily, I had this coat in my duffle bag." She gestured at the black Air Front-issued duffle on the floor of the train; next to it was a familiar looking blue and grey bag.

"Hey, isn't that the…"

"Oh, yep, it is." She smiled at the small bag, "Told you I still had it." She picked it up, rubbing her hooved finger on some of the worn out spots. The new strap Sharla had modified it with was long and durable looking.

"Looks like it's been good to ya," Gideon said proudly, "Surprised it's lasted this long."

"I did have to mend it a few times, the other mammals in my unit can get pretty rowdy, and I guess I'm not too careful with the rough housing either."

" _Rough housing?_ " Gideon raised a brow, "Y-you?"

"Surprised?" Sharla had, in fact, looked forward to watching Gideon react to some of her stories about being in the Air Front. Sometimes she felt the same when she looked back at all the changes she had gone through while away. "I know, never thought little meek Sharla would be roughing it out in Ibexas, right?"

"W-well that's not what I— I mean, what do you mean by 'rough housin'?"

"Mm, you know," She put her bag on the floor and resumed rubbing her bare legs. "Air Front life is surprisingly physical, we can get in a lot of scuffles—"

"—Scuffles?"

"Lots of displays of strength, like arm wrestling, picking up squad mates that are larger, stuff like that."

Gideon let out a cautious chuckle, "Looks like you got some stories to tell." He had a hard time imagining Sharla picking up a mammal that was larger than her.

"I do, actually—" Sharla nodded.

There was a sudden jostle as the train started on a decline. Sharla, with her legs on the seat, didn't find her balance quickly enough and fell into Gideon. She flailed slightly trying to steady herself.

"Whoa," Gideon put a paw on her shoulder to help her lean back up. "Careful there, darlin'."

Sharla gave an embarrassed grin as she scooted a few inches away and cleared her throat. She looked out the window to see where they were. They were heading out of the snowy mountains; the countryside vista of Bunnyburrow finally became visible between the thinning trees and snow.

The two sat for a moment in silence. Gideon wanted to say something, but he wasn't quite sure what to talk about next, the cadence of their conversation had been thrown.

Until at last, a question came to his mind.

"So…" He started.

"Hmm?" Sharla looked to him expectantly, as if she too was wondering how to continue the conversation.

Gideon sighed, "I don't really mean to, uh…" He scratched the back of his head again, something Sharla noticed he was apt to do when nervous. A common enough site in their own interactions. "I'm grateful you came by and saw me an' all, but... To be honest, I'm actually surprised you'd wanna spend time with me."

"Huh?" Sharla furrowed a brow, confused.

"I-I mean," Gideon visibly regretting saying that, "That came o-out wrong, I just—"

"Gi-deon," she grinned.

"—Just forget I asked, I really do appreciate the gesture."

"Gideon," She said again, "You don't need to be so nervous, it's just me."

"W-well…" Gideon thought for a moment. She was right, even though the two of them had changed in so many ways, she was still the little sheep that he had gone to school with for so many years. "Y-yeah…" he calmed himself down and looked into his lap at his fidgeting paws.

"And I know we haven't really spoken in a while," she acknowledged. She fumbled to explain why she had sought out Gideon to him, and to herself. "I just figured, we could start being friends now. You've really changed a lot, even more than I have."

Gideon looked up, surprised at the compliment. "You… you mean that? I-I mean, you're the one that's followin' your dream of goin' to space. You went off to some crazy far off territory and joined the armed forces, going to school for that Bio… mechanized… some such. And I'm— I'm just… learning to make a better pot of potato stew, living in the same town I was born in."

Sharla grinned, shaking her head. Gideon wasn't only tamer and gentler now, he was modest. "Give yourself more credit! It's not about where you are, or what your dreams are."

"I-I, um… I don't follow, darlin'."

"Gid, look at you." She bumped a hoof on his shoulder, "When we were in elementary school, all you did was bully other kids and skip out on class. You were a failing student all the way until High school."

Gideon said nothing, just looked away from her.

"Now look at you! You've changed more out of anyone that I know. You graduated high school with everyone, got accepted into the U of Deerbrooke."

The look of shame on Gideon's face was slowly replaced by one of pride as he continued to watch his paws.

Sharla continued, "You've grown up into such a great mammal, Gideon. You don't need to admit it, but I know you've worked really hard to make yourself who you are today."

Gideon gave a bashful smile; she was right, it _was_ hard to turn his life around. It was one of the hardest things he had done, and it did feel good to stop and think back on how much he had achieved, even though he wasn't going into space, or becoming the first rabbit police officer like their old classmate Judy Hopps was.

"What'd I say about flattering me," He grinned widely.

Sharla let out a laugh, Gideon followed suit shortly after.

"I guess," Sharla started again, still pondering on Gideon's previous question. "I guess I came to see you because I get to see the real you, after so long. I want to be friends with the _real_ G-ideon. We could have a fresh start."

Gideon found warmth in that answer. After all, she was the reason he had pushed himself to go to study the culinary arts. And if Sharla could find it in herself to forgive and forget, and give their friendship a fresh start, then so could he. He, too, could forgive his past self and look forward to the future. Excuses be damned.

"I'd like that," Gideon nodded, yet he was unsure how to deal with these new emotions, "Sharla, thank you— It… really means a lot to hear ya say that, even after everything I did when I was younger."

"You worked so hard just to change, the least I can do is forgive you."

There are some times where you just feel the urge to smile, as if your face is being lifted into this form by some intangible force. For Gideon and Sharla both now felt this strange sensation, as if all was right with the world as they took just a moment to look at each other. After striving so long to overcome his aggressive and insecure nature, Gideon was fully recognized by one of the mammals he hurt as a reformed and truly new person.

"I've been thinkin'," Gideon started, breaking away from the eye contact they briefly shared, "About the question you asked me, last time you were in town."

"Hmm? What question?"

"About… why I changed," Gideon's smile faded as he reminisced about his darker days, "Or why I wanted to change in the first place."

"If you aren't ready to talk about it, that's fine."

Gideon shrugged, "Nah, that ain't the reason."

"No?"

He took in a breath and shook his head, "More like I didn't really know how to answer, it was more than one thing. But I guess… I guess what started it all was Travis."

"Travis?" She asked, confused. "Ah— Travis! That ferret you used to hang out with all the time! Whatever happened to him? Did he get into that Nova Ferocia school he was aiming for?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Think so…?" Sharla paused, that was the same ferret, wasn't it? She pressed her mind, recalling the final years of their high school days. "You guys were like two peas in a pod until…"

"Until the day I…" He looked around the train, as if the harsh memory was a mammal somewhere nearby, "The day I tore your backpack."

* * *

Travis had been away for a while, "science camp" he called it. Never really understood what it was at the time, guess I still don't. But the point is: Travis was away for about a month, and I didn't really know what to do with myself for that long.

I just kinda loafed around, not really doin' much. I remember taking a real hard look at what I actually spent most of my time doin'. Turns out, when you're all alone, that's some great time for self reflection.

Boredom wasn't something I dealt real well with at the time, and it's not like I had much opportunity to be bored with Travis around. Boredom kinda turned to depression, and I just spent a lot of time at home, not wantin' to do anything.

Until finally Travis comes back from his camp, comes over to my house. I'm really happy to see him, he tells me all the cool things he did, all the cool things he learned. Then…

"So, what'd you do all summer?" He asked.

Not really sure what he expected me to say.

Maybe he knew that I didn't really know what to do without him, or maybe he honestly expected me to have done somethin' cool. Anyhow, don't remember what it is I actually told him, but we got into this talk about, how he felt like it wasn't OK to be smart around me, or, how the only things we really did together was bully other kids and cause trouble.

I mean, he wasn't wrong. But the me I was at the time didn't wanna hear it. I shrugged him off, told him if that's really what he felt then he should go find some other friends. So he kinda dropped it for a few days, and we went back to exactly what he said we did: bullying other kids, causin' trouble.

So the school year starts up, couple weeks later. I tore your backpack, and Judy shows up to teach me a lesson I'll never forget —my jaw hurt for weeks after that— Lost my pride, but there's one other thing I lost later that day that I'll probably never get back.

After me and Travis ran away, he had a few words to say to me…

"Gid, I told ya…" He said, guess it was the adrenaline, or the fact that my jaw was swellin' up, he was gonna speak his mind. "All we do when we hang out is cause trouble. Did you see the way Sharla looked at you when you grabbed for her bag?"

"What makes you think I care how she looked at me?" I tried to act tough, but on the inside, I was in turmoil. I did see the way you looked at me, I'll never forget the look you gave me. "Right now, all I care about is that stupid bunny and how I'm gonna rip her stupid like eyes out for almost breaking my jaw in half."

He was shaken' his head, sulking in my house for a good moment, like he was workin' up the courage to tell me somethin'. I was just sittin' there, cradlin' my jaw with a baggy full a' ice, all the while he's gettin' ready to tell me somethin' like that and I had no idea.

"I'm done being your friend," he says. That instant, I'm in a full on panic. I was depressed when he wasn't around, and all I could think about when he said those words… "I wanna do something with my life. We're both fifteen years old, and we've been doing this crap since we were in elementary school. I don't wanna be afraid of sounding educated around you, I want to get into medicine."

I don't really remember what I said, all the things I said to beg him to change his mind. How I was sorry, or how it was OK to do well in school around me.

"No, it's not," He said, he saw right through me, ain't no one who knew me better than Travis. "Every time I say something smart, or talk about something that's you're not interested in, you call me names— you say mean things, man!"

Then, I got angry. I knew he was right, that I didn't like it when he acted smarter than me, or that I brought out the worst in him.

He thought I was mean? Well, some of the things I said to him right then, I don't blame him for walkin' out, and never uttering a word to me again.

"Travis, you ain't nothin' without me!" I screamed, not really listenin' the reasoning in my head. Only the voice of rage and retaliation rang that day. "Only reason I hang out with you is 'cause I feel bad for you! What with your stupid mom bein' dead from trying to be a hero. That kinda stupid's in your DNA! Yeah, you think you're so smart teaching me how to say that word! Well, guess what? S'gonna take a lot more than pronouncin' fancy words to dig you out of this idiot backwater hick paradise! So get used to it, I'm the best you're ever gunna git!"

As soon as those words left my stupid mouth, I knew that I lost my best friend. Sometimes you say things that you can never take back, no matter how hard you try. Sometimes, you just need to suffer your just-desserts, and that's exactly what I did. Travis never spoke to me again after that.

That day taught me two things. One, I'm afraid of being left alone, having no one to be there for me, to be my friend. And two, my whole life, up to that point, all I was doing was pushing everyone away, creating my own personal nightmare.

If I didn't do somethin'… anythin', to make it up to you, to Travis… to _everyone_ , that's exactly what I would've been: alone.

* * *

 _Early Evening_

 _Kodiak Cafe_

"Here's your alfalfa tea, darlin'," Gideon said, placing a steaming cup on the table in front of Sharla before taking a seat in the booth with her. He was dressed in the same work apron he had worn during her last visit.

"Thank you," Sharla started, still taking in Gideon's story. "So… You apologized to me, baked me some treats, and got me a backpack because you didn't want to be alone?"

Gideon scratched the back of his head slowly, again uncertain of how to explain.

"I dunno," he shrugged, "I guess I thought if I… if I started making an effort, showing you that I could be a better kinda mammal, that maybe you'd wanna be friends."

"Hmm…" She said, taking a sip of her tea.

"Look, Sh-Sh-Sharla, I know how it sounds." He placed his paws together on the table and started fidgeting, "I was a dumb kid, I figured maybe it wasn't too late to turn things around. And… the way you looked at me, the way I hurt you— I-I-I-I guess that was just the last straw. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I wanted you to know that I was sorry."

Sharla put down her tea and put a hoof on Gideon's fidgeting paws, causing him to look up. "G-id, listen. What you did, it worked! I'm here now, we can start a friendship, you're not alone. Sure, it might have taken a few years longer than you expected, and I'm sorry Travis never forgave you, but it's not on him to owe you forgiveness…"

Gideon nodded slowly, "I know that, and I don' hold it against him or nothin', but it stings all the same."

"You can't dwell on it forever," She looked into her tea, giving his paw an awkward pat, "Does no one any use agonizing over something that long ago."

"I know, darlin'." He nodded as Sharla took her hoof away to take another sip of tea. "It's like you said during your last visit: s'all in the past, what's done is done."

"Exactly. You've come so far, changed yourself so much, it's time to forgive yourself."

Gideon stayed silent. While he appreciated the support Sharla was showing him, he wasn't so sure if he was ready to forgive himself for that just yet. Sharla may have done so already, but…

"What, uh…" Sharla started drawing circles on the table with her hooved finger. "What happened to Travis's mom?"

She had tried to change the subject for Gideon's sake, but her mind led her in that not-so-helpful direction.

"I…" Gideon started, not really wanting to talk about that, "I probably shouldn'a told you that part, even though me and Travis don't talk, I'm sure he wouldn't want me tellin' that to anyone…"

"Right," Sharla took another quick sip of tea, suddenly becoming aware of her lack of discussion topics.

"A-are you sure you ain't hungry?" Gideon was becoming more versed to dealing with awkward silences, something Sharla was grateful for in this instance, "It wouldn't take long for me to whip somethin' up."

"Oh, I should probably get going after I finish my tea," Sharla admitted truthfully, "My parents are probably wondering why I haven't shown up at the house yet."

"Ah, d-don't let me keep ya. Wish I could walk ya home, but I can't leave the café during my shift."

"I'll be fine, Gid. I'm here for three days, so I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for me to try some of your delicious cooking." She drank the last bit of her tea and stood up from the booth, putting her white coat back on, "I'm really looking forward to that, by the way."

"Likewise," He said, standing up with her. He picked up her duffle from the floor to hand it to her, surprised at the heft of it. He had to wait a moment as she zipped up the front of her coat. "Between work and school, I don't really have much else place to be, so you'll know where to find me."

By the time Sharla took the heavy duffle from him, his arm was trembling with the strain of its weight. She lifted it from Gideon's paws and slung it over her shoulder with little effort.

"It's been nice seeing you," She said sincerely. "Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow it is."


	4. Friendship Days

**Edited by:** Jeinu, LotharHex, and Erinnyes

 **Notes:** I did it! I updated all three fictions before the end of May. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, I put some feels into it.

And once again, thanks to my editors for their help! Some things you can't really fix with only one pair of eyes.

* * *

 _Wednesday, March 27th, 20X3_

 _Afternoon_

 _University of Deerbrooke, Coati Canyon_

Gideon was in high spirits as he walked down the usual winding path to his train back to Bunnyburrow. The skies were clear and the snow was absent. Unusual weather for Coati, but Gideon had no mind to notice.

He watched for Sharla, wondering where she would greet him. She had promised to spend some time with him today, although she didn't exactly specify when or where. Either way, Gideon was looking forward to it and had already decided what he would cook for her.

He walked through the train station, keeping an eye out. If she was here waiting for him, he wanted to make sure he caught her. The station was fraught with university students waiting for the train, but no Sharla, at least from what he could see—

"Gid!" A familiar voice called from amidst the crowd. Sure enough, she eventually emerged. "Gid! Over here!" She called waving slightly, despite the fact that he was looking right at her.

She looked better prepared for the winter weather this time, dressed in the same fluffy white coat as yesterday, but with pants that covered most of her legs.

"Hey there, darlin'," He smiled as she jogged up to him. "See ya decided to dress for the cold this time."

She shifted her coat a bit, patting it in places, straightening it in others. "Yep, but this coat is a little itchy against my sheared wool. Although I guess I didn't have much reason to wear it until now."

"So, uh," Gideon paused, distracted by her coat fidgeting until she stopped and crossed her arms, "I, uh… guess you'll be callin' me 'Gid' from now on then, huh?" He said, not quite sure what else to talk about.

Sharla thought for a moment, "Oh, um— I guess that just slipped out that way. I mean if you mind it, I can—"

"N-No, I don't mind." He quickly interrupted, "Y-You can call me by whatever ya like, I don't mind none."

Sharla gave a slight grin, "So then, 'Gid'. You ready to head back? Should we check the train schedule for the next one heading to Bunnyburrow?"

"A-a-actually, I was headin' over to this store," He said, pointing in a direction, "It's just a ways down the street here." Gideon scratched the back of his head bashfully, "I was gonna… grab some ingredients for your meal tonight and uh— y-y-you don't mind if we head there first, do ya?"

Sharla seemed to brighten at the idea of being able to experience Gideon's cooking again, "Oh, you don't have to go out of your way to cook me something special, Gid." She kept her arms crossed, swaying her torso left and right. "I'm fine with whatever you have in stock at the café."

"Ain't no problem, darlin'," He chuckled lightly. He realized he was fidgeting with his paws so he hid them in his coat pockets. "I-I-I been actually wantin' t-ta make this for ya for a while now. It's somethin' I came up with in class, I-I think you'll really like it."

Excited by the idea of a new dish, but not wanting to seem too eager, Sharla nodded, then patted Gideon on the arm. "Keep coming up with those fancy dishes and you'll be a world class chef in no time." She walked around him to head towards the busy crosswalk. "C'mon then, you can show me around Coati."

Gideon gladly followed. Sharla seemed to be doing most of the leading, even in a place that was new to her. Not that Gideon was complaining, he found himself admiring her more and more as he struggled to keep up with her energetic pace.

* * *

 _MeerMart Whole Grocer_

"So what are you making me?" Sharla asked, finding it difficult to control her excitement. There was just something about Gideon's cooking that was… enticing.

Gideon gave a nervous chuckle, "Th-that's a surprise. It'll be delicious, promise."

While Gideon's confidence in himself as a mammal was slightly lacking, his confidence in his cooking was anything but. Sharla took notice of this, taking a mental note to have him talk more about his passion.

Gideon picked up a small jar of capers and examined it closely before adding it to his hand basket.

The store they were shopping in was a rather quaint market, it was adorned with lots of hand-drawn signs, and had a lot of vintage looking brands. Even the registers themselves had a classic look to them, making a "ka-ching" sound as the cash tray popped open. It was uncanny, almost as if the store itself had been frozen in time. However, clearly, this store went through great lengths to maintain the outdated decor, as was apparent by the smartphone payment readers on the cash registers and even the tablets used by some of the staff. Sharla found herself enraptured by the nostalgic feel that the store gave off.

"H-hey, ya alright there?" Gideon asked, bringing Sharla gently out of her observations. "Look like you're not quite sure where ya are." He chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She assured, "It's just that this store looks really… _classic_."

Gideon let out another laugh, "Yep, you'll find lotsa' places around Coati like this, even parts of my school kinda looks like an old log cabin. Folk 'round here seem to like that aesthetic, I guess."

"I like it, it's almost like…" She thought for a moment as Gideon gestured for her to follow. "Like a place out of time, but not ignorant to the rest of the world."

Gideon placed his basket on a medium-sized cashier's stand as he greeted the elk standing behind it, who took to scanning his groceries.

"I know what ya mean," Gideon said, resuming the conversation. "Like the way things used to look when we were kids. Kinda makes you miss those days when I uh— hmm." Gideon suddenly found himself trapped. As far as Gideon could recall, there were no happy memories between them until he stopped bullying her. A sudden morose look overtook his face as he awkwardly diverted his attention from her and paid the bill for the groceries.

"Gid," She spoke as he picked up the paper bag that was handed to him, "What's wrong? Are you OK?"

He politely said goodbye to the elk cashier and walked toward the entrance to the small store, gently looking back to make sure Sharla was still following. The two made their way to the sidewalk heading back to the train station before Gideon spoke again.

"How do ya do it, Sharla?" Gideon asked, breaking the silence. He stopped walking, looking away from her. "H-How do ya… forget about the way I-I-I used to be? The mistakes I made toward you."

Sharla thought for a moment. In truth, it _was_ difficult to forget, to forgive the bullying, the torment, the harsh words. But Sharla wasn't about to let that get in the way of their new friendship. After all, this wasn't about the past, or how Gideon _used_ to be. This day was going to be about them, their new friendship, and Gideon's new self.

"You're dwelling on the past again," She put a hoof on his shoulder, "Gid, I forgave you. It doesn't matter how—"

"I-I-I just don't get it, darlin'," He shook his head, "How do y-you forgive all that? Other than yesterday and your visit before that, the only memories we have together are of me bein' a complete bully. Why am I worth your forgiveness—?"

"Gid, _stop it!_ " She said sternly stepping in front of him and catching Gideon off-guard. He looked up at her, only to find that she stared into his eyes with a sharp, unwavering gaze. "All those memories, all the hurtful things you did, I forgive you. You wanna know why?" She paused for his answer.

"I-I-I— uh—" Was all he managed.

"Because that's my _choice!_ " She answered, "I choose to make a fresh start with you, I choose to be your friend and to make new memories with you. So let's make the most of the little time we have, OK?" Her piercing gaze turned to a softer one, and she smiled warmly. "Make a choice with me, and let's move on together."

Gideon could feel the gentle fire that burned within Sharla. He knew his faults, and his troubled past continued to haunt him. But if this little lamb could find the strength to forgive, to want a friendship, and to share her fire with him, then how could he try any less?

He blinked, then nodded. "OK, I-I'll make my choice too." He agreed. "Let's make new memories. A fresh start."

"Good," She patted him on the arm, then gestured for the two to start walking again. "Now let's get back to Bunnyburrow so I can try your dish, I'm starving."

"Y-y-you got it," Gideon agreed. He felt encouraged, yet… "I— I'm sorry, I k-kinda almost bungled things—"

"There you go, apologizing again," Sharla shook her head, giving a laugh, "Gideon, I'll tell you what. Whatever happens from here on, whatever mistakes we make, we'll deal with them. We'll keep on being friends, and we'll keep following our dreams."

Gideon took in a deep breath, the cold air filled his lungs. He liked the new Sharla, so much so, that he could feel her confidence in him. He felt like it truly was possible to be able to deal with any of life's hurdles. And with her as a friend, who's to say that anything was impossible?

"It's a deal, darlin'," he agreed, confident. "With you around, how could I agree to anything less?"

* * *

 _Early Evening_

 _Kodiak Cafe_

"Here you are, Sharla," Gideon said, putting down a plate of delectable looking pasta in front of her. "I really hope ya like it."

Sharla, enticed by the aroma, leaned in to take in the scent. Her mouth started salivating, and her eyes closed. "Mmm, this smells so _good_."

"I-it's a pasta dish," Gideon said, relishing the look of bliss on Sharla's face. "Linguine actually, with a Puttanesca sauce and fried capers. The tomatoes and basil leaves are to give it a fresh flavor. I-I-I know Linguine is actually a pretty carb heavy noodle, so I made a little cranberry and nut salad to go on the side."

Sharla was seated in a booth. The cafe was nearly empty as the sun began to set. Gideon sat in the seat across from her. He observed as Sharla took in the sight and smell of the dish; he was proud of his work, yet eager to know if she would enjoy it.

"Where's yours?" Sharla asked, the fork in her hoof almost ready to plunge in. "Please don't make me eat this by myself."

"Oh, uh, I-I already had some as I taste-tested it." Gideon scratched the back of his head.

"Are you sure?" Sharla said, "You work too hard, Gid. You eating enough?"

"Trust me, darlin', I 'taste test' more than I'd like to admit when I cook." He chuckled, "'sides, I'm trying to cut back on my weight anyhow. Go ahead and dig in, don't be shy."

"Hmm, right, _I'm_ the shy one." She grinned as she twirled some of the linguine around her fork. "Here goes!" She said excitedly.

Gideon chewed on the inside of his lip as he prepared for her verdict. He quickly calmed himself as her verbal affirmation wasn't necessary; the bright smile on her muzzle was all he needed.

"Gideon…" She said with her mouth full. Before she could say any more, she filled her fork again and took another bite. She was much too preoccupied with the meal to bother trying to talk.

"I-I take that ya like it?" Gideon asked, allowing some smugness to creep up on him.

"This is amazing!" She finally said, not slowing her eating. "I can never eat like this in Ibexas."

"I hear that Air Front-provided meals aren't the greatest, so I getcha."

Sharla shook her head, "No, it's not just that, even when I'm off base and I go out and eat with some of my friends, the restaurants in Ibexas aren't as good. Only the really expensive restaurants cook like this."

Gideon felt a sense of pride at his food being considered on par with expensive Ibexan cuisine. "Y-you really mean that? You think my food is that good?"

Sharla hadn't the time to answer, as a lynx waiter came up to their table.

"Hey, buddy," The lynx said, referring to Gideon. "I need your help in the kitchen for a bit." He turned his attention to Sharla, "Sorry, don't mean to interrupt your date or anything."

"Oh, it's fine," Sharla said, "I know I'm here during your work hours. And we're n-not on a, uh, a date—" It was Sharla's turn to be shy.

"A— y-yeah we're just friends." Gideon stammered as he went to stand up from the booth, "It's just, um— She's trying out the dish I've been workin' on— Anyway, I'll go help out in the kitchen like you said, Rice." With that, he stumbled off to the kitchen.

Rice turned his attention back to Sharla, "Again, sorry about that, I just need his help for a few minutes and I'll give him back." He chuckled as he gave her a thumbs-up and jogged off to join Gideon in the kitchen.

* * *

"So how did you get into cooking, Gideon?"

Gideon had finished with the dishes and cooking for the odd few customers that came in and left Rice to finish up. The sun had finished setting outside, and the streetlights had come on. Sharla had finished her meal and had just finished telling Gideon how delightful it was. She nearly found herself asking when Gideon would be cooking for her tomorrow, but decided not to, not wanting to impose.

"You know how they say something is a 'long story'?" Gideon chuckled, "This is one of them, and I wouldn't wanna keep ya all night."

Sharla waved a hoof at him dismissively, "Oh, don't worry about it. I already told my parents that I'd be out spending time with you. Gareth is the only one home right now anyway."

"G-Gareth?" Gideon questioned, taking a moment to remember who that was. "Oh, your brother, right? H-how's he been? He, uh… He still live with your folks?"

In truth, Gideon had seen Gareth around town now and then. The two never really had any meaningful conversations other than an awkward hello.

"No, he's just in town visiting, like me. He's working as a trucker right now."

"Well, I'll be darned," Gideon said, "He drivin' one of them big rigs?"

"No, no," Sharla shook her head, "He doesn't have his trucker's license yet so he only drives the trucks back to the depot in Doeton after they drop off their trailers. He's going to school for accounting up there so it kinda works out."

"He's workin' as a trucker while he studies to work in finance?" Gideon raised an eyebrow, "Truth be told I never figured him for the book keepin' type. B-but good for him, I regrettably didn't get much time to get to know the fella."

"With how busy he is, I don't think you'll get the chance until he finishes school." Sharla admitted, "Which is a shame, I don't think he holds anything against you. But, um… I guess I haven't really told him that you and I are spending time together. I just told him I was going out to see some old high school friends, which isn't too far from the truth…"

"Don't you have other friends to spend time with?" Gideon asked, his curiosity driving his next question, "I mean, I do appreciate the time you're spendin' with me an' all…"

"Well, I did see Judy Hopps this morning, but she's busy with her own schooling, and Carmen Hopps hasn't graduated yet. No one else really stayed here in Bunnyburrow." Sharla thought for a moment, drawing patterns on the table with her hoof, "Gideon, can I tell you something?"

"Tell me something? Uh, sh-sure, you can tell me anythin'."

"I, um…" Sharla began, still tracing patterns with her hoof. "I really like spending time with you."

With this new revelation, Gideon could sense strange feelings well up, feelings he hadn't felt in many years. He quickly found he was fidgeting with his own paws on the table as well.

Gideon cleared his throat, "Uh, uh, how do you mean? I don't think I'm all that great to be around." He teased nervously.

"I… The last time I visited, I was really here for a whole week." She admitted. "I only came to visit you on the last day."

"Nothin' wrong with that," Gideon explained, struggling to see what she was trying to say.

"I was putting off coming to visit you." She stopped tracing patterns on the table and lay her hoof down flat. "I felt obligated since I, um… Since I said I would when you came to see me off at the train station the year before. I guess I was, uh… worried or… afraid that you and I still wouldn't get along."

There was a silence, Gideon didn't quite know how to respond.

"But here we are," Sharla continued, she looked up from her hoof and watched Gideon fidget with his own paws. "You've changed so much, _I've_ changed so much. I feel like I'm finally able to see who the real Gideon is. I'm glad I took the time to spend with you."

Gideon looked up after a moment, only to find Sharla was once again looking at him, her gentle fire peering out from within her sky blue eyes.

"Aw, heck," Gideon shook his head, finding himself unable to resist the smile that overtook his muzzle, "I ain't nothin' special, sweetheart," He joked. "I, um… I'm glad too, Sharla… I appreciate you comin' to visit."

"It's…" Sharla hesitated, she looked out the window of the booth. The outside was now dark, street lamps illuminated the sleepy country town. "It's dark, I should head home. Tomorrow's my last day in town, can we hang out again?"

Gideon gave a timid laugh, "You don't even hafta ask. Same time?"

Sharla nodded, getting up from the booth to leave. "Same place."


	5. Trepidation Days

**Edited by:** Jeinu, LotharHex, Hunter715, DrummerMax64

Sorry for the late update to Constants! I know it's been two months since the last update, but I should be able to make updates at least once monthly from now on. :)

Things have calmed down at work and things are returning to normal after the layoffs, those are never fun... anyway, back to writing!

I just wanted to thank my editors again, lots of embarrassing mistakes would make it through without their help.

LotharHex is the author of the fantastic A Reynard's Remorse, (which I'm about 3/4's through). But so far, this has to be my favorite look at how the characters have evolved, and continue to evolve past what we see in the movie. Definitely one of my favorite fictions that isn't afraid to extend our beloved characters(in happy and sad ways) :)

DrummerMax64 is the resident fluffologist (it's a word, look it up (no it isn't really, don't actually look it up)) author of the brand new Fluffy and Scruffy. "Wait, DrummerMax wrote a fanfiction?" Yes! Yes they did, and you should read it.

* * *

There's th-this… girl… I-I-I got feelings for.

 _That so? Got yerself your first crush, boy?_

I guess so…

 _So you're tellin' me, I got some girl to thank for my boy turnin' over a new leaf in school?_

 _ **High school days**_

 _Some time ago_

I-I-It… it ain't like that.

 _No? So, why'd you start carin' about school for, then? All a' sudden you realize your life and education's important 'just because?'_

Like you're always sayin': 'I-I won't get nowhere until I get serious in my schooling.'

 _Oh, no, no, no, boy. I been tellin' you that for years. You ain't listen to me then, I ain't buyin' that you'd start now._

B-but it's not like—

 _Ey! Watch the butter, don't let it burn!_

S-sorry!

 _Ah, get a new stick, can't make no tarts with burnt butter…_

Y-yes, sir…

 _So, this girl you like, she cute?_

… She's l-lovely. Cutest girl in school.

 _She like ya back?_

D-d— uh, dunno…

 _Well what'd she say when ya told her?_

I didn't tell her, ain't told no one. 'Cept you, dad.

 _Hmph, well there's your problem. Ragin' hormones attackin' you since you hit puberty and here you are hiding' from your feelings._

… Maybe.

 _When you plan on tellin' her?_

Dunno. Maybe I'm not gonna.

 _Ahh now, that's no attitude to be havin', son. Grow a damn backbone, would ya?_

I-I just don't know if she'd feel the same, y'know? I-I-I mean we aren't exactly friends. And to be honest, I been pretty mean to her since we were kids.

 _Ah, one of the kids you bullied._

Sh-sh-she just doesn't seem like she'd really want anything to do with me.

 _Well then, boy. I think you got yourself a question to ask: "Do you want her bad enough to change?" And on top of that: is she the reason you been doin' better in school?_

Ch-ch-change? Y-you mean be more like her?

 _No, I mean_ _ **change**_ _, better yourself, make yourself a fox worthy of havin' their affections returned. If your school work, and your manners are any indication, I think you been goin' in the right direction, albeit you still got a ways to go._

H-how… uh, how do I know what kinda mammal she'd like? I-I don't even know what kinda mammal I wanna be…

 _I can tell you whatever you wanna hear, boy. It could be the deepest thing in the world. It won't make a lick of difference. It doesn't mean anything to you. The only one who can find meaning is you. Find out why… or_ _ **who**_ _you want to change for. Then the change will follow. I can't help ya with that, boy, only you can._

Ah… ah-I see…

 _So, this girl ya like. She a vixen I met before?_

She… well, she's not… No, I-I don't think you met 'er before.

 _Well, what's she like? She smart?_

… S-smartest mammal I know. She's always on the honor roll at school, top scores in the county.

 _What does she like to do? She got any hobbies?_

W-well, I dunno, I never asked her.

 _She got her driver's license?_

N-not sure.

 _Boy, please tell me you at least know 'er name._

Yeah, o'course I do!

 _That_ _ **all**_ _you know about 'er? Just her name?_

I know she likes cookies. Th-the alfalfa hay ones you taught me how to make. I-I-I _think_ she likes 'em anyway.

 _Ah, so she's the one you made that big batch up for? Though, can't say I ever heard of a fox that likes alfalfa hay recipes…_

Y-yeah. She would eat a few in the lunchroom. The look on her face when she would eat them, her smile… A-and the way she laughs with her friends. She's so—

 _Mmm, boy. You best not be stalkin' this girl, creepin's unbecoming of a Grey._

Uh, n-n-no sir! I just…

 _Ahah, I'm just kiddin'. But it really sounds like you need to let her know. Who knows, maybe in a few months you'll be bringin' this vixen home to meet your ma and me, yeah?_

Heh, w-wouldn't that be somethin'…

* * *

 _ **Present day**_

 _Thursday, March 28th, 20X3_

 _Afternoon_

 _University of Deerbrooke, Coati Canyon_

"What's on your mind, Gid?" Sharla asked, tilting her head into Gideon's field of view, which was fixated on the snowy pavement as they walked through the busy mountain town.

"Uh…" He started, his mind returning to the present. "Sorry, I got my mind elsewhere. It's nothin'."

The two had taken some time to explore the vintage storefronts, which Sharla had taken a liking to after being shown the classic grocer the previous day. It gave her a rush of nostalgia, possibly the intended purpose of the design, but still a welcome side effect of a local flavor. Either way, Gideon was more than happy to show her around the town, as he shared the sentiment.

Sharla gave a raised brow at his dismissive response, "It's not really 'nothin' if you're all preoccupied. Is everything going OK in school?"

"O-o-o' course it is." Gideon stuttered, "W-what makes you say that?"

"Well, for one thing," She brought a hoof up to her chin, "You seem to stammer more when you're lying, and your ears start twitching an awful lot."

And how would she know that? The two hadn't spent _that_ much time with each other. Maybe it was some type of military training to look for tells. Gideon pondered this as he tried to think of a way out of telling her what was on his mind.

"I-It's not somethin' you need to worry about, darlin'," he insisted, shaking his head.

The Main Street of Coati was normally pretty busy, but it was now the hour where most of the morning class students were leaving back to their respective towns a train ride away. Bunnyburrow, Haverfoal, even Podunk.

Sharla decided to take Gideon's mind off of whatever was worrying him. If he didn't want to talk about it, they might as well talk about something else.

"So, how come you don't live up here?" She asked, looking around at all the differently sized houses and apartments they passed. Most shared the same aesthetic: classic, nostalgic, interspersed with some rustic designs. "The living spaces up here seem so nice, quaint. Plus, you'd be a lot closer to your school."

Gideon chuckled, "Hmm, _w-w-would_ be nice if I could ever hope to afford it. Y'see lot of these houses are a-actually shared by some of the more better off students. I'd be lucky to get any privacy, let alone my own bedroom if I lived up here. Aesthetic comes with a price, I'm a-afraid. I couldn't afford my own place here even if I made ten times what I make at the diner."

"Such a shame," She stared longingly at her surroundings as the two wandered, no real destination, "These places seem so cozy. All this cold weather, the tall trees, the snowy mountains. I wouldn't mind living here myself."

"I-I wouldn't be surprised if ya did someday," Gideon gave a grin, the cold weather making his breath mist from his muzzle, "After you get back from your first mission out into the cosmos, I'd reckon you could settle yourself a nice place here."

Sharla gave a warm smile, glad that Gideon believed she could achieve her dream.

Gideon stopped in front of a large shop. Wooden planking dominated the front exterior of the shop, the entrance, or entrances rather, went from mouse size, to elephant sized, in sequential order, each door a different shade of pastel. The front was also donned with a large logo using colorful children's alphabet blocks.

 _Pandamonium Toys_

"Ohh, a toy store?" Sharla looked up at the large building, marveling at its whimsical yet rustic design. A small voice in the back of her mind beckoned her to enter.

"Yeah, I figured you might like to see this place." Gideon said, nodding, "Seein' how you seem to like the aesthetic of this town, this place has a l-little somethin' for everyone."

"Do you," She gave Gideon a knowing grin, "Do you come here on your own often?"

Gideon rubbed the back of his head as he walked toward a small entrance door, "C-cmon, there's somethin' I wanna show ya."

"Oh, Gideon," She said quietly to herself, delighted at this new discovery about her friend.

* * *

"My folks bought me this when I was younger, I think it was about 6th grade," Gideon said proudly, showing a tiny green oven that was on display. "I-it actually works, makes some mean pastries I tell you. Provided you don't leave em in there too long, thing gets way hotter than it has any business bein'." He chuckled.

The two had spent some time checking out the older toys section, most of which were second hand or even leftovers from toy models long since discontinued. Unsurprisingly, Gideon had taken her directly to the cooking section.

Sharla's coat was slung over her forearm, for the interior of the toy store was surprisingly warm. Gideon, of course, had offered to carry it, which Sharla was all too quick to refuse. Gideon also noted that she seemed to have an affinity towards Capris shorts, an article of clothing perfectly suited to weather in Bunnyburrow and Ibexas. Not so much the cold biome of Coati Canyon, however. In either case, he noted how she looked great in them and a simple striped t-shirt. In all the ways Sharla was different, her fashion sense more or less remained the same.

"Gid, it's so cute!" She almost bleated, putting her hooves up to her mouth. "Is this how you got into cooking?" She crouched down to examine the small appliance, opening it and checking all the tiny dials. It was an inoperative floor model of course.

"Hah, w-well almost." Gideon explained, "Me and my dad— w-well I guess you could call him my step-dad. Anyhow, when I was strugglin' in school and… bullying everyone else, he told me I needed to pick up a hobby."

"Was your step-dad a chef?" Sharla asked, pleased that Gideon was finally letting her in on why he got into the culinary arts.

"N-no, not really. Me and him kinda took it up together. At first we just learned how to make any old meal. Pasta dishes, soups, simple things." He shrugged. "Started out simpler than that. Him and I started out making cookies with this little gadget." He patted the tiny oven.

Sharla began to examine all the little accessories that you could buy to go with it. The 'Bettong Crocker Easy-bake oven'. It was ancient, metallic, and an awful light shade of green. A grotesquely out-of-date design, but Sharla was enraptured by it; imagining little Gideon cooking with it was more than enough to give her the urge to giggle.

But, something about a little, angry Gideon made her skeptical about whether he actually played with it or not. For all Sharla knew, Gideon spent his childhood days probably bullying injured birds. She felt guilty for doubting him, but nonetheless, "So… when we were younger, when you weren't… you know, being angry, you just made treats with this oven?"

"W-well," Gideon stuttered, mentally agreeing with her thought that what he claimed didn't quite add up, "Not really at first. When my folks first bought me the thing I tried to melt little plastic toys in it."

That was more inline with what Sharla had expected. She finally allowed herself a chuckle.

Gideon seemed to be hurt at the laugh, but Sharla quickly remedied that; she stood up from her crouched position and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Gideon, you've come such a long way. I didn't mean to laugh at you." Sharla said apologetically, "It's OK to laugh a bit at how things used to be. Don't take yourself so seriously. I think it's cute that this is what you used to do as a kid."

"I-I… you do?" Gideon wasn't quite sure how to respond, he lowered his ears bashfully.

"Of course," Sharla said, "Um… well, when we were kids, I always thought that you were, um…" She shifted into her bashful state before quickly bouncing out of it, "Oh! What's this?" She walked excitedly toward the end of the aisle, where something curious caught her eye.

Gideon had only a few seconds to ponder what she might have said until he recalled what was at the end of the aisle, at which, he too, became excited. He caught up to her after closing the oven and quickly straightening up the accessories she had been playing with.

"Oh-oh, I think you'll love this." He said giddily, reaching a peculiar setup.

It was a large colorful mockup of a town, small enough for an elephant to play with, but large enough for, say an adult lamb and a fox to play _in_ as if it were a full-sized play set.

"This is so cool!" She quickly made her way to the steps leading up to the platform the town sat upon. She looked around cautiously before deciding to enter. "Can we go in…?" She asked, looking around for a sign that would give her express permission. Not finding one, she turned to Gideon for approval.

"P-pretty sure we can," He laughed, "Because if not, then I've probably broken the rules here a few times myself."

That was all Sharla needed. She excitedly walked up the steps, her hooves clacking happily on each one, and began to examine the small city. Gideon followed, grinning at the childish energy that Sharla exuded.

"You remind me of when I first discovered this place," he laughed.

"If I could, I'd buy this whole town." Sharla said excitedly, walking towards the largest building in the setup: a clock tower that resided in the center. The tower itself was at least twice Sharla's height. "Wow…" she turned herself around slowly, taking in all the sights.

Small cars littered the 'streets', only large enough that maybe a bunny could fit into, or maybe a fox child. Sharla and Gideon could have definitely fit into one, were they still children. Colorful wooden buildings of all sorts lined the area. A bank, a restaurant, a barber shop… or at least, Sharla thought it was a barber shop.

"I-I'm glad you're enjoyin' it here," Gideon said relieved, "T-to be honest I wasn't quite sure where to take you today."

"You don't really have to take me anywhere," Sharla shrugged, "I'm happy just spending some time with you even if we're just riding the train or hanging out at the Café. But I'm glad you took me here, there aren't any toy stores like this in Ibexas… or even in Bunnyburrow for that matter."

"G-glad I'm showing you a good time anyhow," Gideon said, "Any building in particular you wanna go inside?"

Sharla let out a quick gasp, "You can go _in_ them?"

She didn't wait for the answer, she quickly made her way to the building decorated as a restaurant and tried the door knob. As the door opened, Sharla tapped her hoofed feet on the ground excitedly before entering, having to duck slightly to do so.

Gideon followed her inside. The door was wide enough to allow his more generous girth, but just short enough where he would have hit his head had he not ducked.

The inside of the building was somewhat small, not cramped, leaving plenty of room for both Sharla and Gideon to occupy, but not much else. A small LED light fixture illuminated the interior, which was empty other than two windows that allowed a look of the outside. One towards the front of the shop, and one towards the back, which overlooked another aisle of toys in the store.

"Let me guess," Sharla put a hoofed finger up to her chin before pointing it at Gideon, "This is your favorite building."

"The restaurant?" Gideon thought for a moment, humoring her question. "You could say that, but I'd say if they had a bakery, I'd much like that one more."

"A bakery?" She questioned, looking out the back window. "You like baking most of all, then?"

Gideon took a moment before responding, not quite sure what the answer was. "I suppose I do." The answer finally came. "I-I mean, don't get me wrong, I like cooking in general. But there's something more relaxing, more… homey about baking. You know?"

Returning her attention to Gideon, she had a devious look on her face. "You mean like those cookies and crackers you sent me?"

"I-I take it from the way you're lookin' at me that you want more of 'em?" Gideon chuckled. "I'd love to make you some more before you leave."

"You read my mind, Gid." Sharla gave him a thankful grin. "I mean, if you don't mind that is."

Sharla stepped around Gideon and opened the door that led back out of the miniature building, ducking to leave.

"You don't even have to worry 'bout it, darlin'" Gideon assured, following, "It'd be my pleasure. Should we head back to the cafe then?"

"Actually, there's one more thing I want to look at while we're here."

* * *

"You know, you sure did get much taller since graduation." Gideon said, noting how they both had to duck to leave the miniature buildings.

Sharla shrugged, examining the model airplanes of wildly varying sizes that hung from the ceiling. "Well, I was pretty short all throughout high school. Sheep tend to be late bloomers I hear."

"I-I was beginnin' to worry that you'd be even taller than I was when you came to visit this time." Gideon chuckled, "Ya seem to be just an inch taller every time I see ya." He joked.

Sharla playfully swatted the back of her hoof on Gideon's belly, "Oh, come now, would that really be so bad if I was taller than you?" She returned to looking at the planes, checking the corresponding boxes for a particular model she was looking for. "'Sides, I think I'm pretty much done growing at this point."

The two shared a light laugh, both appreciating the warm friendly banter that they were now capable of. Sharla noted how Gideon seemed to stutter around her a lot less than he used to, which she took as a sign that he was becoming more comfortable around her. A sentiment that she shared. Gone was the angry, harsh Gideon, and here stood the new Gideon: calm, and kind.

The two spent some time looking at the various aviation models, until finally...

"Aha!" Sharla exclaimed, "Found you!" She picked out a moderately sized box, and on it, a picture of a large 'flying-wing' style aircraft. "A Marten YB-49 Nuclear Flying Wing!"

Gideon's eyes grew wide at the picture on the box. The airship itself seemed to have a countless number of engines, and the included reference of a nearby giraffe mechanic made the ship seem enormous. It seemed to be several stories tall, very wide, triangular in shape, and completely non-aerodynamic.

"Is… is that a model of an actual airship?" Gideon said, astounded, doubting that the monstrosity could actually become airborne.

"Yep, it's one of the largest airships still in service." Sharla affirmed, "It even has its own class-13 particle exciter engine, capable of generating over twelve hundred metric _tons_ of atmospheric pressure, which is used not only for thrust, but also to nullify wind drag. _And_ it's capable carrying a full crew and full cargo around the world _twice_ before it needs to be refueled."

"I, uh… I understood a minimal amount of them words." Gideon laughed, remarking at how knowledgeable Sharla seemed.

"Oh, sorry." She held the box close to her chest bashfully, "I didn't mean to show off, it's just mighty interestin' to me."

"I see that, plain as day." Gideon shook his head, noting that Sharla's southern drawl was peeking through. "You gonna get it?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded, visibly pleased at her find.

* * *

"Next stop, Bunnyburrow Central Station." The computerized voice said over the train intercom. "Depart there for Zootopia and Haverfoal bound trains."

The train made a buzzing noise as it departed the station, the snowy landscape of Coati Canyon zipping by as Sharla and Gideon watched from the comfortably warm seats within. There weren't many other mammals on the train, as most of the students had already left Coati about an hour ago. A strategy Gideon had found to avoid the after-school rush, whenever he didn't need to be at work right after school.

"So," Gideon started, not wanting to slow the momentum of their free flowing conversation. "You actually get to fly any of those planes or airships yet?"

Sharla laughed as she placed the plastic bag containing her new model airship on the floor of the train. "No, no, I'm not actually a pilot." She explained, "I'm part of maintenance and engineering, so I spend most of my time in the airship hangars or the shop."

"Well, I'll be. So when you said you were working on aircraft yesterday, you weren't kiddin'. I take it you like it? Gettin' used to it?"

"I love it! I mean— I'm still getting used to being so far away from home. But I really feel like I'm going in the right direction."

"Yeah, I know that feelin' alright." Gideon agreed.

"Speaking of that, how's schooling going?" Sharla asked, intrigued, "Learn any fancy new dishes?"

"Ah, well Culinary Arts isn't really all about learnin' new recipes _per se_." Gideon explained, his passion starting to take over. "I've mostly been learnin' about what ingredients work well together, _why_ they work together," he started counting out bullet points on his fingers, "Uh-uh, how to extract certain types of flavors based on cooking style, why you cook foods at certain temperatures, o-oh, and _presentation._ That's a big one, lots of emphasis on how your dish looks. You cook a really good dish, but if it don't look so good, not many mammals be so inclined to eat it. And u-uh…" Gideon realized he was talking too much, he suddenly became embarrassed. "Y-yeah, got a little carried away there." He put his paws down on his lap, rubbing his pant legs up and down.

Sharla kept silent, watching Gideon speak so knowledgeably about what he was learning, about what he was passionate about. She put a hoof on his arm and smiled warmly.

Gideon looked from the black hoof on his arm to Sharla. Her eyes, her gentle yet passionate gaze, it filled him with odd, yet pleasant emotions.

"I'm so proud of you, Gideon." Her voice was sincere, compassionate, "Everything you've done to get this far."

Sharla had voiced her approval of him before, to be sure, but there was something about her gaze, her physical contact. She _meant_ it, deeply and sincerely. To her, he had accomplished what he had struggled so hard to accomplish; to change for the better. To change… for her.

He realized that he had stared into her eyes for an indeterminate amount of time without saying anything, he broke his gaze and shook his head. "W-w-well, heck, darlin'." He started, trying to hide his bashfulness, as his face grew warm. "T-two can play at that game. I'm proud at ya right back."

"Oh, well I—" Sharla took back her hoof, and used it to scratch the side of her muzzle. "Y'know, I didn't do anything like you, Gideon. All I did was, run away from home and joined the Air Front to fix planes and engines all day— J-joking of course, I d-didn't _really_ run away from home." She tittered.

"Guess we'll just take turns bein' bashful and humble." He grinned as the tease danced naturally from his mouth.

"My parents say the same thing," She said fondly, but her expression slowly turned into one of pondering.

"Say what now?" Gideon questioned, "Sayin' that you're bashful and humble?"

"No," she shook her head, still slightly in thought. "They say they're proud of me, that… that I'm doing things they never thought a bla- uh… a sheep could do."

"Heck," Gideon said, "I'd say you'd be doin' things I never thought _any_ mammal could do, bein' a sheep notwithstandin''."

Sharla gave a solemn grin at that, "What? Joining the Air Front?"

"Well, now," Gideon waved a paw around as he thought for a moment, "That ain't it."

Sharla looked back to Gideon as he tried to articulate himself.

"Ya remember all them years ago," he continued, scratching the back of his neck, something he seemed to do when he broached a sensitive subject, usually the past. "When you and Judy did that little stage play where you showed off what y'all wanted to be when you grew up?"

"Mmm," Sharla nodded.

"I s'pose I was… j-jealous." He labored to say.

"Jealous?" Sharla asked, confused.

"Yeah… it was like, at first I just thought you all had your heads in the clouds. Bunny bein' a cop, sheep b-bein' a— u-uh…" Gideon suddenly lost the nerve, realizing what he was about to say. "We-well, I mean, uh… I d-don't mean."

Sharla shook her head, almost amused, "Gid, it's OK, just say what you were gonna say."

"Uh, r-right. Anyhow, w-when you all were talkin' about bein' those things, I guess I just thought y'all didn't know what you were talkin' about. Thought maybe you'd realize how hard it would be for you to actually be an astronaut, and Judy would realize that bunnies just don't become cops."

"Do you still think that?" Sharla asked, knowing what the answer probably was, but she wanted to hear him say it.

He shook his head, "No. I reckon both of you showed me otherwise… Sharla, you never gave up, for as long as I've known ya, you've never wavered on what you wanted. Never cared what anyone thought, never bothered with the naysayers… l-like me."

Despite looking away from her, staring ahead, fidgeting with his own paws, he could feel her looking at him. Sharla's warm and gentle gaze, intent and unwavering, listening.

"I g-guess it got me thinkin'," he continued, "If a bunny could be a police officer, a-and a sheep could be an astronaut… then…"

Sharla let out an amused sigh, fascinated, and thankful for Gideon's inner thoughts. "I'm not an astronaut yet."

Gideon shifted at that, making eye contact with her. Something Sharla noted, he had difficulty doing up to this point. "But you will be," he said, "Ain't no doubts in my mind, darlin'."

For a moment, Sharla felt something as the words left Gideon's mouth. He believed in her, and he wanted to see her succeed. But what was it that she felt?

There are times when you want something, but you don't quite know what it is. Like a voice in the back of your mind, a driving force that pushes you to achieve greatness. But for what?

"Do you…" Sharla gulped, realizing her mouth had been hanging open slightly, "Do you really mean that?"

"Absolutely," Gideon assured, their eye contact still unbroken. "If there's gonna be a first sheep into space, it's gonna be you, sweetheart."

* * *

 _Late Afternoon_

 _Train to Pawstin, Ibexas_

She could have put it in her duffel bag, but instead, she held it close. It was a bag of alfalfa hay cookies, tied with a silk red bow. Still warm from being baked just an hour prior. The aroma of the cookies was homely and familiar. It was Gideon's recipe, and her mouth salivated for the delicious confections that she would no doubt later enjoy. But for now, she contented in holding them.

Gideon had gone off to the Kodiak Café to bake them while Sharla went home to pack for her trip back to Ibexas. They met at the train station to say their goodbyes. It was reminiscent of their first goodbye, just two years ago when she first left for Ibexas to join the armed forces. But this time, their friendship had blossomed, and Gideon had done something that he had been working up the nerve to do for the longest time; he asked for her phone number.

"Here…" Gideon's words as he handed her the nicely wrapped bag, "It's an early birthday present. I-I remember when y-your birthday is because you used to get teased about it back in school. April 1st… April Fool's Day."

She marveled at how far the two of them had come, the changes that had transpired to give them the friendship that they now shared. The warmth of not only the bag of cookies in her lap, but the warmth she held within herself.

Sharla then realized what it was that she had wanted, something she became aware of when Gideon had declared his absolute confidence in her. How long she had wanted it, or _why_ she wanted it, that was not yet clear. But one thing was for sure; she had longed for Gideon to come to believe in her, to see her fighting spirit and to cheer for her as she tried to fight against expectations and cultural boundaries.

She smiled, finding solace in that at long last, she knew what she desired, and she had it; Gideon believed in her unquestioningly… and she believed in him.

It didn't matter if the world tried to deny her what she had always wanted, to tell her that it was not her place to touch the stars. As long as Gideon believed, then maybe the impossible wasn't so far out of reach after all.

At least, it was something Sharla could hold onto. Something was on its way to Ibexas, and sometimes… fate holds itself in contrast to one's best intentions.


	6. The Days Between

**Edited by:** Jeinu, Hunter715, LotharHex

 **Notes:** I had some writer's block(again) for a little while, but I'm slowly ramping back up my daily word count so hopefully I can keep it up!

The next chapter will be from Sharla's point of view at Percheron. If anyone has any suggestions on what you'd like to see before the bad things start happening, please let me know! Mmm yes... bad things... I do believe I named chapter 5 _trepidation days._

* * *

 _ **High School Days**_

 _ **Two years before Sharla's enlistment with the Unified Air Front**_

 _Wednesday, December 2nd, 20W9_

 _Armadil Road, South Bunnyburrow_

"Sh-Sh-Sharla," Gareth bleated rather nervously, "Are y-you sure this is a good idea?"

"Gideon hasn't been to school in almost two weeks," Sharla said, her voice hid a discernible amount of worry. "I just wanna to make sure he's alright."

Gareth walked with her to a point, but then, as if stopped by some unseen barrier, he would go no further. Because down this street was the house of a bully. A bully he had not seen in some time, nor a bully that had done much bullying recently. However, it was a fact that almost all the interactions that Gareth had with Gideon Grey were undesirable at best. Despite his sister's determination to head down the road and check on the troublesome peer, Gareth found himself hesitant, but he knew better than to try to stop her. In her teen years, Sharla had taken on a more assertive persona.

"W-well, maybe he just went on vacation, or maybe, uh…" Gareth paused, finding it odd that he would try to come up with ideas for what Gideon would do other than show up to school. He lingered behind, not willing to catch up with her even to converse. "What if he tries to b-beat you up?"

"C'mon, he hasn't beaten anyone up in years," Sharla shook her head, "We're all older now—"

"That _you know_ of," he interrupted, his body language still displaying a strong urge for Sharla to follow him back home and away from this fool's errand. "I heard that he goes over to the community college to beat up other students there, since the others at our high school—"

"Gareth, stop." Sharla said sternly, "That sounds like a buncha nonsense."

"But it sounds like something he'd do!"

"How would you know?" She spoke louder, getting frustrated.

"How would _you?_ " Gareth raised an eyebrow at her sudden defensiveness. "As far as I know you don't even talk to him, why do you care if he's comin' to school or not? How do you even notice that he's not coming to school unless you been…"

Sharla knew where that thought was headed, she suddenly lost the nerve to make eye contact and looked elsewhere. She wanted very much to just leave her inquisitive brother there and continue on without saying another word.

Gareth narrowed his eyes, "He's a year ahead of us, the only reason you'd even notice he was gone was if you been watchin' out for him. Why are you…?"

Sharla often found herself abandoned by her growing confidence from time to time. This was the case now, and she couldn't refute his claim. This did not go unnoticed. A brief moment of awkward silence surrounded them while he considered how to process this information. Sharla said nothing, only looking away and down the road toward Gideon's house.

"I'll, uh…" Her brother started, "I'll tell Ma that you'll be home a little late. Looks like it might rain so don't be t-too long." He paused for another beat, then started walking away, leaving Sharla on the windy road. The sun faded as an overcast sky came to blanket the sleepy countryside.

Sharla said nothing, she would deal with Gareth's questions later. It was time to see what happened to Gideon Grey.

As she made her way down the road, she had time to ponder. Why was it that she and she alone, at least in her circle of friends and peers, had noticed Gideon's absence? It was true, that since their little altercation with her backpack, and his subsequent apology and replacing of said backpack, they had a much more amicable attitude toward each other. Albeit, it was very limited interaction, but nonetheless…

She walked up the front porch of the Grey residence. It was a small suburban home, one fit for a medium-sized species family. Definitely not a property large enough for any sort of farming, like her own family's. It was well-maintained, but not much activity was apparent within.

Hesitating, her hoof hovered before the doorbell button. Was this it? Had she lost the nerve? Why did she even care if Gideon wasn't coming to school? He would probably start showing up again eventually and no one would ever speak of this again. She quietly cursed her brother for raising these doubts in herself, and frightening off her skittish spirit of confidence. Would she wait for it to come back before she—

She impulsively moved her hooved finger forward, pressing the doorbell button. In times like these, when she found herself hesitant or unable to make a decision, she had built the habit of quickly forcing herself into the action, before her higher brain functions could debate further.

She clasped her hooves behind her, listening as movement began to stir within. A much older fox finally opened the door.

"Yep?" The fox spoke, "What can I do for ya?"

"H-hi," She spoke, finding her voice had receded slightly, she cleared her throat, "I assume you're Gideon's father?"

He gave a warm smile, a smile that she wasn't accustomed to seeing from a fox. "You'd assume right, hun. And I'd assume you're here for Gideon?"

"Uh, mhmm," she hummed affirmatively, nodding. "I-i-if he's here, that is."

"That he is," the fox replied. It was strange, he appeared almost… grateful for her visit. "I'll go get him. I do apologize that I'm not inviting you in, it's a terrible mess inside right now. Can I get ya to wait out here?"

"I don't mind none," she said reassuringly, her confidence having since returned, "Thank you, sir."

The older fox gave her one last smile before closing the door.

"Gideon, boy, you got a friend here to see ya!" She could hear him call.

Despite it being rather dark due to the overcast, there were no lights turned on inside. She didn't have too much time to consider this, after a few seconds of shuffling, Gideon opened the door.

"O-oh," Gideon managed, surprised at the visitor. "Sharla, I-I wasn't expecting ya…"

"Were you expecting anyone else?" She asked, trying to gently get him to come out. He looked terrible. His muzzle looked damp and the fur on his head was un-groomed. His eyes were veined, tired, he had not slept well. "Gideon are you— Are you OK?"

Gideon suddenly became aware of his appearance, "I-I… shoot…" He hissed, "Sharla, whatdya want?" A subtle annoyance entered his voice.

"I was just wondering…" Sharla's confidence wavered once more, "Y-y-you haven't come to school in a while, I just wanted to make sure you were OK."

While Gideon would not open the door further, merely opting to stick his face out the small opening, she could see him well enough. "You…" He started, his look of mild annoyance faded. "You came to check on me?"

Sharla found herself concerned. What was Gideon crying over? Had he been crying, even? He didn't seem ill, nor did he seem in any physical distress from what she could see.

"Y-yeah," she spoke up, "I was getting worried. I didn't see you in the hall, o-or at lunch."

"You were…" Gideon seemed to be puzzled by this, "You were worried? 'bout _me_?"

Sharla nodded, "Uh-huh. Gideon do you wanna… come outside and talk with me?"

A moment passed between them. Gideon seemed comforted, albeit confused. But this quickly washed away.

"N-no," He said quietly, his face suddenly taking on a more sullen look.

"Are ya sure? Is everything OK?"

"Sharla, I… appreciate… you coming to check on me, but—"

"I-if something's wrong, you c-c-can talk to me about it—"

"No!" He hissed, almost baring fangs.

Sharla took a step back, caught off-guard by this. Her heart beat harder, and adrenaline immediately sharpened her vision. She fought to calm herself.

He realized what he had done, and returned to his sullen expression. "S-sorry. But you should go. D-don't… waste your time on me."

Before she could respond, he pulled back his face and shut the door.

"I— what… Gideon?"

"Go away!" his voice carried from behind the door. "I'll come back to school tomorrow just… just go away. Please."

She found herself hurt by this, but why? Gideon wasn't a friend, and he definitely wasn't someone her family cared much for. So then why did she find herself hurt that he had shut her out? There were no answers on the windy porch. The smell of rain started to carry.

"OK." Was all she could say, "Good night, Gideon."

Whatever had happened to Gideon Grey, Sharla would notice in the following years; he would never be the same.

As she walked home through the windy country streets, the rain began to fall. Sheep lacked wool coverage on most of their faces, and Sharla was no exception. Tiny cold drops began to touch down on her bare muzzle, her cheeks.

What was it about seeing Gideon that had made her so unsettled? Was it his disheveled condition? Or maybe the way he almost snapped at her, getting her fight-or-flight reaction started. Whatever it was, another thought crossed her mind as she made her way home: perhaps the rain was not the only moisture on her face.

* * *

 _ **Present Day**_

 _Sunday, August 4th, 20X3_

"Mouse couple over on table six left, Rice." Gideon said, drying his paws on a dish rag, the near scaldingly hot water from the sink already evaporating from his fur. "Ain't no one else come in for the last half-hour or so."

"Got it," Rice said as he re-tied his apron, "Thanks a bunch for watching everything. I'm sorry I had to run out like that."

Rice had just returned to the diner after running to the pharmacy a few streets over as it was closing hours for most other local businesses. His sister's medication, being a more time sensitive thing to worry about, required that Rice make a dash to acquire them before the pharmacy closed.

"Ain't no trouble," Gideon waved a paw at him dismissively, "'sides, diner doesn't get much traffic this time of night. Your sister's medical needs are a bit more pertinent than a few patrons anyhow."

Rice patted himself to make sure he looked presentable and tossed the paper bag of pills onto the counter in the diner's kitchen.

"Still," Rice said, "It's not something I plan on doing often. You wanna take your break? You could go call that sheep girl, see how she's doing."

"You mean Sharla? T-tonight?" Gideon's eyes grew slightly wider.

"Yeah, why not?" Rice smiled knowingly.

"Uh, I-I could!" Gideon scratched his scalp, as he was wont to do when he grew nervous, which was fairly often. "We-well, maybe tomorrow. I don't got much to talk about."

Rice shook his head, he reached up to a shelf to pull down a big stew pot. "You said that _yesterday_."

Gideon pulled a large sack of pre-sorted, dry white beans from a nearby cupboard, saying nothing. Rice was right, Gideon _had_ said that yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that.

"You don't need anything to talk about," Rice continued. "Just talk! You're always talkin' about her, maybe you should try talking _to_ her?" He laughed as he started filling up the pot with water from the sink, keeping the faucet low enough to allow them to keep talking. "Besides, you guys seemed to talk just fine while you were sitting face to face in the diner, _sí?_ " Rice relaxed enough to allow his accent to show through.

Gideon heaved the beans onto the counter, cutting it open with a claw. "Heck, I dunno. It's always different on the phone, ya know? Plus I ain't never called her before."

"Judging from you guys' body language, neither of you have hung out much before either."

"Y-yeah… Me and her just kinda started… w-well I mean she was the one that uh…" Gideon stammered, not quite sure why he was having difficulty finding the words. He finished cutting open the sack and waited for Rice to finish filling up the pot.

"She the one who asked you out then?" Rice turned off the water.

Gideon choked, "W-what, I-I—"

"I'm just teasing ya, _güey_ ," Rice started to laugh, clacking the pot onto a large burner and motioning for Gideon to add the beans. "Hey, don't turn more red than you already are."

The bag of beans lingered for a moment, until Gideon collected himself enough to pick them up and began to pour them into the water. He said nothing further as the beans splashed toward the bottom of the pan.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Rice patted him on the shoulder.

"Uh, n-nah." Gideon shook his head, he crumpled the empty burlap and tossed it on the counter. "Do… do ya really think that though?"

"Think what?"

"That just 'cause a guy and a girl are hangin' out mean they gotta be interested romantically?"

"Hmm," Rice thought, he tapped his nose a few times "You got a point, but I really didn't mean to put you on the spot about it, yeah?"

"But, uh…" Gideon paused, "I suppose in this case…"

"Eh?" Rice pushed, his voice becoming giddy, "Got the hots for the buddy army sheep after all?"

"Do ya think she'd be, uh," Gideon nervously leaned against the counter, "Sh-she'd be interested in me? I-in a fox?"

Rice thought for a moment, although to Gideon, it appeared as though time froze. He had just affirmed, or insinuated at least, that he was interested in someone outside of his species. In a city like Zootopia, this is more-or-less commonplace. But in the countryside? Things like that weren't so black and white. Even in the company of friends, the unlikeliest mammal could always unpleasantly surprise you. And in this moment, Gideon held his breath to see what type of mammal Rice would end up being.

Rice let out an odd sound and tried to stifle an equally odd expression. It was a sound Gideon had heard only a few times before. As a lynx, Rice had an almost whiney laugh, as if he were gasping for air, so he often tried to hide it. But it was all too obvious to Gideon; Rice was indeed trying his best not to laugh.

"Wh-what's so darn, funny?" Gideon said, unsure if he should be relieved or offended. "F-forget it, forget I-I-I said anythin'." He started to walk away, toward the back door of the kitchen.

Rice gave up, allowing his cackling high pitched giggle to echo forth. "No! No! Gideon I'm sorry! I didn't mean—!" More cackling interrupted his speech, "You guys just look so cute together!"

"W-what?" Gideon was taken aback, he turned around to watch the giggling lynx.

"When you two were sittin' there in the booth," Rice began, trying to control himself, "The way she smiles at you, makes my heart melt. You tell me you don't see that look in her eyes, yeah?"

Was that true? Was the fire that Gideon felt when Sharla gazed at him truly something else? Surely it was just Sharla's strong will and self confidence… surely.

"Th-th-that's not…" Gideon stammered.

"Come, come," Rice waved a paw as he walked forward and passed Gideon, on his way to the back door. "Let's go outside."

The two made their way out of the kitchen to the rear of the diner. It wasn't much to look at, part of a parking lot, a chainlink fence that cordoned off the next-door warehouse and some trash cans of varying size. Rice crouched onto his haunches with his back to the garbage can while Gideon plunked himself down on the doorstep. He sighed.

"So!" Rice started, scratching his muzzle, "tell me what you got on your mind."

Gideon shook his head, it was almost frustrating how a conversation about what he should do on his break had turned into a session about what he felt towards a particular sheep. But maybe he was putting too much thought into it, as often he did.

"Uhh, I dunno what ya want me to say, Rice." He lifted his paws and let them fall back to his lap. "So, maybe she does like me, maybe I like bein' friends."

Rice shrugged, "Then that's that, eh?"

"Maybe," Gideon looked at the ground, spotting rocks or small cracks with weeds growing from them, as if that would help him think. "You… ya really think I got a shot with Sharla?"

"Why not?"

"Uh, I dunno. I ain't no sheep, if ya aint noticed." He grumbled.

Rice let out a shorter version of his laugh, "Ah, so that's what this is about! Look, if you're worried about me being against that kinda thing, everybody's got the right to be into whatever makes em happy, no?"

There was a shared silence as Gideon processed that. He let out a scoff shortly after, "Don't think I really 'decided' anything, I just kinda 'noticed' more like… 'noticed' that I kinda like a girl that I've known since we were kids, you know?"

"Whatchya like about her?"

"I…" Gideon started, knowing the answer, but not really how to explain, "W-well, every time I talk to her, she's got this confidence. T-this inner fire, I guess."

"Inner _fire_?" Rice said, confused.

"Y-yeah, well I d-dunno how to explain it. Says she wants to be an astronaut, girl won't take no for an answer. Whenever she looks at me, everything she does— Even when we was kids, she'd stand up to me— _me!_ No way she'd let anything get in her way. She says what she means and she knows how to get what she wants. Darn it, that girl's gonna be an astronaut someday, I'd bet my tail on it!"

"Ahh!" Rice snapped his fingers, "Got her own _machismo!_ Now I get it."

"M-ma… ma cheese mo?"

"So, that's why you went and signed up for culinary school." Rice nodded, grinning, "This girl's making a new mammal out of you, _güey!_ "

"G-guess she is." Gideon agreed.

"Then hold on to that girl and don't let her go!" Rice said in a tone that implied what he said was the obvious answer. "'The best companions in life are the ones that compel you to reach new heights', or however that saying goes."

"I-I'm unfamiliar with that saying…"

"Whatever! The point is, you got a winner there, and she likes you back, don't even try to deny it."

"Well…" Gideon was comforted by what Rice was saying. Maybe Sharla did have feelings for him like he did for her. Either way, it was too soon to tell, at least for Gideon Grey. But, "I j-just don't want my feelings messin' anything up."

"How do you mean?" Rice said. Despite their friendship, Rice sometimes found Gideon's thought process enigmatic.

"Thing is… I know I wanna be friends with Sharla. Like you said, she 'pushes me to new heights'…"

"Right?" Rice gently pushed him to continue.

"I just don't want my feelings for her to mess anything up, m-maybe I'm thinkin' too far ahead but… A-a-anyway, interspecies familial troubles aside—"

"You've obviously looked into this to some detail, no?"

"You gonna let me talk?"

Rice made an apologetic expression and waved his paw in gesture to continue.

"Like I was sayin'," Gideon took a few moments to recall, "Sharla and I're both busy, she lives off in Ibexan land chasing her dreams of going up to the stars. And me? I'm just some plump country fox learnin' from an expensive recipe book. 'Sides, maybe we'll be OK as friends."

"Is that what you want?"

"What'dya mean, 'is that what I want?'" Gideon scoffed at the simplicity of the question.

"Look, buddy." Rice stood up and dusted his apron a bit before walking over to Gideon. "Wasn't a trick question."

"That really matter?"

"Hmph," Rice crouched down again, this time next to Gideon. "If there's one thing I learned from hearin' about your sheep friend, you might have feelings one way or the other. But in the end, it really is your choice isn't it?"

Gideon raised an eyebrow at that.

"Haven't you learned that much from her yet? You tell me she moved away from home as soon as she was able and started learning some crazy science, breo-meka-nicks—"

"Bio-Mechanical Engineering" Gideon corrected.

"Uh huh, that thing. On _top_ of that, she joined the Air Front. And being a sheep in _Ibexas?_ That isn't exactly the easiest career path."

Gideon gave a skeptical look while he gazed off nowhere in particular.

"It wasn't a 'feeling' that made her do those things." Rice gave a short laugh, "Whatever feelings you have right now, and whatever feelings you have between yourselves down the road. Whether you stay good friends or something more. What happens in the end really depends on the _choices_ both of you make. No?"

Rice patted Gideon on the arm and stood up, making his way around him and into the kitchen.

"H-hey, Rice?" Gideon said.

Rice paused in the doorway.

"You mind if I make a phone call?" Gideon asked sheepishly.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle an empty diner on my own," Rice grinned. "Go call your sheep buddy."

* * *

 _Hey, Gideon!_

Howdy, Sh-Sharla.

 _You called at a good time, I just got back to my room. How are you?_

Oh, uh, well, you know, good as always, I just, uh… didn't have classes today, on account of it bein' Saturday.

 _A day off finally?_

Naw, I'm, uh… I'm still workin' at the diner. I'm just on my break.

 _Don't you get any days off?_

N-no… not really I k-kinda work over the weekend then I get mid-week off from the diner, but then I go to school on them days.

 _Gid, you work too hard._

Ahh… yeah, maybe. Uh… I-I, uh…

 _Hmm?_

I, uh… I guess I didn't really h-h-have nuthin' to t-talk about.

 _Hah, Gideon, that's OK._

R-really? C-c-cuz I-I don't wanna bother you or nothin'. I suppose I shoulda had somethin' more interestin'—

 _Hey, hey, calm down. You know you talk really fast when you're nervous._

A-ah… I do? Well, I'm sorry, I just—

 _And you apologize when you don't need to._

Uh, y-yeah… I guess I do.

 _We don't really need anything to talk about. And you don't bother me, it's just nice to hear from someone back home._

Y-yeah… It's, uh… it's nice hearin' from you too. Th-that is— I-I mean—

 _Gideon, calm down. It's just me, remember?_

R-right right. You make it sound so easy, darlin'… If I recall, y-you used to be the timid one.

 _I wouldn't say I'm not timid anymore, exactly._

Really? I'd say that's pretty close t-to the truth. Y-you sure sound more confident in your speech than when we was kids.

 _When I'm talking to you, maybe. I mean, uh… I'm comfortable talking to you now._

… I-I guess I'm not s-s-sure what to make of that, honestly. I mean, I'm glad for it. B-b-but I guess talkin' over the phone's just a little bit of a different creature for me. I d-don't mean to say you make me uncomfortable or nuthin'…

 _I get it. You're just nervous talking on the phone, it's nothing I take offense over._

Th-that's good. S-so you don't speak like this with other mammals, then?

 _I do with you, and some of the others I work with. Like some of my subordinates, my commanding officers, especially Captain Daviden. He's been so nice to me since I became an officer._

Ah, I-is that so… This Daviden fella sounds like he's been treatin' ya well! But uh… is he…

 _Hmm?_

N-nuthin', I just… Uh— Anyhow, I'm glad you're doing' so well. I had no idea you were an officer! Although y-you might have told me that when you was here… What's an officer?

 _Heh, oh, Gideon. Well, I'm only a second lieutenant, which is the lowest rank for officers. Normally, I would have had to complete my bachelor's degree first before I would've been considered for the promotion, but sometimes they make exceptions for those who are attending the school that's on-base. And thanks to Daviden, I managed to finish my officer's training and become an Engineering Officer a bit early._

Aw heck, that's amazin'. You always were the early achiever, real bright.

 _Gid, don't flatter me! What's that you always said about not flattering you? S'not fair you doin' that around on me._

H-hey now! I say that 'cause I ain't nothin' worthy of bein' flattered.

 _Gid, that ain't true! I reckon you got as much worth as me, learnin' how to become a master chef an' all._

It's real cute how your country drawl comes in every now and then, darlin'.

 _O-oh…_

I-I— Wha- I didn't mean… I'm sorry, th-th-that just kinda slipped out— I mean. Oh, heck…

 _So, um… uh…_

Yeah… s-sorry…

 _I uh… H-how's your schooling going, G-Gid?_

Uh-uh, it's goin' real well! Been practicing cookin' dishes here at the diner… The owner here lets me use some of the stock ingredients we got here; he's been really accommodatin'.

 _That's great! I really like your cooking._

Ahh, my cookin' ain't any better than any other chef 'round here. B-but I value your appreciation.

 _I mean it. I look forward to your cooking every time I visit. And… it didn't take me long to eat those cookies you sent home with me last time. Not long at all._

I'd cook those for ya anytime, you just say the word n' I'll send em' your way. I'll bake up a batch and send em out to you tomorrow, actually.

 _Oh, I don't want to impose if you're busy…_

Never too busy to do ya a favor, consider it done, Sharla.

 _Thank you, Gideon. I can't tell you how delicious those cookies are._

If what you've said about 'em is any indication, I think I got a good idea. Heh. I'll even make some more on your next visit.

 _Speaking of that, um… my next visit might not be until the end of next year._

End of n-next year?

 _Yes…_

That's such a… long gap.

 _I know, but… I've just been so busy with my school work, and starting next spring I'll even be leading my own engineering project. It's really a great chance for me to prove myself!_

Well, that's great news! I-I mean, if that's what you need to do, then I'm in favor. Reckon we can always keep in touch in the meanwhile through phone calls and textin'.

 _Of course!_

Well, nice chattin' with you darlin'. Rice is askin' me to come help make the soup-of-the-day, our beans finished boilin'.

 _Oh, Gid before you go…_

Y-yeah?

 _Um… n-no. It's nothing._

O-okay, if you say so.

 _I'll… give you a call sometime?_

Anytime's a good time, Sharla. G'night.

 _Bye, good night_


	7. We all have those days

**Edited by:** LotharHex, Erinnyes, DrummerMax64, Mr. Manchas, and Jeinu

So! After a 3 month long hiatus, I'm back! Life happened, excuses happened, all of which I'll need to take a closer look at to learn what I need to do to make sure that doesn't happen again. Etc. Excuses aside, I should be back to posting regularly again.

Chapter 8 is already done and in editing. So the wait for the next chapter won't be long at all :)

 **2/18/2018:** Adjusted dates on a few of the scenes to account for changes made in chapter 8.

* * *

 _Go home country girl, this isn't a place for little sheep._

 _She's just a piece of country sheep trash, she'll never be any good as an engineer, let alone an astronaut._

 _You're kidding me. Who in the hell made her an officer?_

 _Ba-baa, what're ya gonna do, cry?_

 _She made Second Lieutenant… unbelievable…_

 _Gimme your tickets right now, or I'll kick your meek, little sheep butt!_

* * *

Months rolled by. In Bunnyburrow, summer would fade into winter, then back again. But in Ibexas, Sharla would only notice two varying levels of hot and arid. Despite the changing of the seasons, one thing remained constant: Gideon and Sharla slowly grew closer, calling one another more often, sending each other small gifts. There was even talk of Gideon taking a much needed vacation to the arid desert territory of Ibexas. "I just need to get out of Bunnytown," he says every time, not really bold enough to outright declare his true reason. What that true reason was, maybe Gideon wasn't so sure. Nevertheless, he mentally swore he would gather the courage to visit her sometime.

Sharla noticed as time went on, that she tended to call Gideon more and more often. With what started as the occasional call every some odd months, slowly turned into monthly, then bi-monthly. Eventually, she found herself calling him weekly. Both knew the other's schedules well enough that if one called the other, the call usually did not go unanswered.

They found that they had so much to talk about; gone were their days of nervousness and awkward pauses. Although there was still the occasional silence, it was earned, comfortable, and welcome. Gideon talked about the dishes, techniques and flavors he had discovered, even talked about a hobby he had picked up: hiking.

Sharla had not the time to find new hobbies; she talked about her projects with the Air Front, her occasional ventures outside of the airbase. And airships, Gideon found that she was darn near obsessed with them. She spoke about particle exciter engines, how different types of ships stayed afloat, aerodynamics and psychrometrics, and all the sciences in between. He'd be darned if he ever knew what she was talking about, but Gideon would patiently listen to all of it. He was learning, but he came nowhere near the understanding that Sharla had with these subjects. Sharla could tell he struggled with the more advanced concepts, and tried to keep it simple.

However, Gideon began to notice a newer trend in his conversations with Sharla. She began to bring up the topic of bullying more and more. Sometimes it was a simple question, others, it would be a small discussion on why Gideon thought mammals felt the need to bully. It was never direct —she didn't seem to want a full discussion about it— but Gideon could tell: something was bothering her.

Gideon would ask her what was on her mind, but she would deflect. She wasn't ready to talk about it, at least not to him, so he would let it go. Yet still, the concern persisted. And there was one thing Gideon grew to learn about himself over the years: he was nothing if not persistent.

* * *

 ** _The Next Year_**

 _Monday, July 28th, 20X4_

 _Afternoon_

 _Percheron Airbase, Ibexas_

"You know I can't tell you what I'm working on," Sharla shook her head, chiding her brother playfully over the phone, "Why do you keep asking anyway?"

Sharla walked across the hot pavement of the airbase, her hooves warmed, near burning, as they took her on her way. The sun blazed, the air was dry and searing, but Sharla was used to it by now.

Other mammals made their way to their own destinations, and despite the wide open space of the airbases, there was a lot of foot traffic. It was a Monday after all, mammals ending their shifts, on their way to the mess hall for lunch, or, like Sharla, on the way to the base exchange for groceries.

Her wool was shorn short along her arms and legs, allowing for more comfort and easier dispelling of the heat. The long ears that drooped to either side of her head felt cool, despite the heat. However, the pants of her Air Front uniform covered most of her legs, not quite her preferred length, as she much preferred the shortened hem of her casual capris shorts.

Her sleeves were rolled up, showing the dark skin of her arms. Most mammals didn't dare to shave themselves as short as she had, but the benefits of being a sheep was that it was more or less the norm, being wooled, rather than furred.

"I just think it's so cool!" Gareth elated, "My sister's working on some cool robot or somethin'—! For the Army!"

"I never said I was working on robots," Sharla snickered, rolling her eyes. "And I'm in the Air Front, not the Army."

"But you're not denyin' it!" Gareth continued to speak with a childlike enthusiasm, "Besides, whatever you're specializin' in, the biomechanical… whatever—"

"Engineering."

"Yeah, _engineerin'._ That just sounds like robots to me."

"It's called bionics," Sharla let slip, although she immediately thought to hold back any further information in Gareth's incessant prying. "And before you say anything, bionics is very different from robotics."

"Ahh, I-I knew i-it!" He bleated in excitement, "I know, I know, you can't tell me what your little project is, I'll stop diggin'."

"For now, anyway," She teased, "This is how all of our conversations go, you call to 'just check' on me, then you start asking questions about what I'm working on."

"I… guess I do kinda do that, huh…" He conceded playfully.

"So, is that all you called me about— ah!"

Sharla lost her grip on her phone, and it flew back a few feet onto the pavement. Someone had bumped into her, and after a moment collecting what had happened, Sharla found that it felt almost deliberate.

"Whoops." The somewhat taller pronghorn said, not even turning around. " _Sorry_." He continued walking away after a brief pause.

It _was_ deliberate. The mammal that had walked into her shoulder was Godart. A Senior Airmammal that had been a thorn in her side since the day she arrived in Ibexas.

"Godart," She said sternly. Him being a lowly enlisted, Sharla outranked him as an officer, but that never stopped him from ignoring that fact. Nevertheless, he stopped, and turned around.

He was rather intimidating to most other enlisted, and while he wasn't particularly well built, tending to be on the slender side, and he was only a few inches taller than Sharla, he gave off a daunting air. His chest was puffed out, and his blunt antlers conveyed a certain aggressiveness.

"Yes… _ma'am_?" He said after a pause.

Sharla walked over to pick up her phone. The screen was intact, but only showed the Zoogle logo, no doubt the rough drop causing it to restart, losing the call with her brother. She looked toward Godart, thinking for a moment at what to say. A year ago, Godart wouldn't have shown restraint in the language he chose to use while talking to her. Since she became an officer, however…

"Watch where you're going, Airmammal." Was all she could think to say.

He leaned toward her before saying, "Yeah, you got it." He managed to spit out, then turned around and continued off to wherever he was going.

"No-good sheep trash," he said quietly under his breath as he walked away.

Sharla heard this, and it stung, but she had no mind to reprimand him.

Since becoming an officer, Sharla's interactions with him had been fewer and farther between. But each time his maliciousness got to her, his subtle body language, his petty insults, all of it surmounted to a undeniable insecurity to build within her.

Sharla looked at her phone, making a quick check for any damage. Finding only a few minor scuffs, she wiped away any debris with the back of her hoof and continued on her way to the base exchange.

* * *

 _Evening_

 _Sharla's Room_

"That guy sounds like a real ninnymuggins."

Sharla couldn't help but giggle at Gideon's strange term to call Godart.

"He is," Sharla hadn't been talking to Gideon for long, but she found that she was already in a better mood. "I try not to let him get to me."

"Why do ya let him?" Gideon asked, his gentle voice emanating from her scuffed phone, "Yah should have made him pick up your phone, sounds like he bumped into ya on purpose. Ain't you his commandin' officer?"

"No, Gid, that's not quite how that works," she began to explain, adjusting herself into a cross-legged position on her bed. "You see, I-I _outrank_ him, yes, but we're not even in the same division. I have command over a specific group, which happens to be my engineering team."

"Ah, I gotcha. Guess I haven't quite wrapped my head around how Air Front hierarchy works, officers… enlisted— B-but anyhow, ya still outrank him, why didya gotta put up with that abuse?"

Sharla didn't respond to that. She thought for a moment, even though she knew what the answer was. Abuse was a good word to use for it.

"Sweetheart, please don't tell me that this is normal Air Front life..." Gideon continued, his voice taking on a concerned tone. "That animals treatin' ya like that is the usual."

"Huh— No, no," She shook her head, "I-I mean, yeah, when I lived in the barracks— before I got my own room in the officers quarters, there would be a lot of roughhousing, punching, arm wrestling, and, ya know, insulting each other's mothers." She let a chuckle come out, "It's all in good fun, which is admittedly more… um, testosterone-driven than high school life was. Godart is different, he's more... malicious…" a sigh, "Like he hates me."

"Truth be told, I honestly can't understand how anyone can hate ya." Gideon said, his voice comforting, sincere, "Maybe he's just jealous. Didn't ya tell me that you both enlisted around the same time? I s'pose I can see anyone gettin' jealous that you ranked up so much faster than the other recruits you joined up with."

Sharla found some comfort in that; he was right. Sharla had rocketed her way up in the short few years that she had been in the Air Front, managing to make First Lieutenant just recently. She had already been placed with her own command over an engineering project, a goal she had only dreamed of this same time last year.

"Maybe you're right," she conceded.

"He, uh... he ain't bullying ya is he? Seeking ya out just to harass you?"

A silence. Sharla wasn't sure how to answer. Or rather, she knew the answer and was too ashamed to admit it. So, she didn't.

"Ya can talk to me, darlin'." Gideon said, "You kinda been broachin' the topic of bullyin' for a good few months now. I'm worried 'bout ya."

Since becoming friends with Gideon Grey, Sharla hadn't quite gotten used to the way he spoke to her now. The way he spoke so kindly, and the concern he showed for her. Despite her reluctance to answer, his voice warmed her.

"Hmm," was all she could manage for the moment.

To Gideon, it was apparent that Sharla was holding onto something. She wasn't denying it, after all. But how could he get her to open up?

"During your last visit," Gideon started, "when you asked me if something was on my mind. I've been havin', uh… troubles of my own."

"Troubles?" Sharla asked, her concern becoming apparent, "What kind of troubles?"

"Up at the University. There's a badger— dunno what he actually attends for, all he ever seems to do is ditch class. Some of the other students say he's attendin' for the same reason I am: cookin'. But I don't ever see him in any of my classes, but I s'pose it's possible he just takes the higher level classes or somethin'— I dunno."

"Is he… harassing you?" Sharla surmised.

"Well, now there's a good word for it," Gideon agreed. "His name's Rosco. I don't see him too often, but when I do, he's always got somethin' to say. Him and his girlfriend."

"They both harass you? What do they say?"

"Well, it used to just be about my cookin'. Tellin' me it was trash, or that I wouldn't ever make it no where. Tellin' me that a fox has no place preparing food."

"That's _terrible_ ," Sharla shook her head, unbelieving that such behavior occurred even outside of high school, with adult mammals. "Gideon, please don't believe that. Your food is anything but trash."

"I don't pay it no mind," Gideon said, trying to assure her, "Honestly, I'm used to that kind of attitude towards me."

"How do you mean?" Sharla asked, confused. "Do many mammals tell you that?"

"No, no, nuthin' like that. It's nothing other animals really _say_. Like even when we were in high school— well, through most of my childhood actually. It's just the way other animals act towards me, I guess it's because I'm a fox, but uh… It's the body language, the unsaid things. The way others look at me, like I ain't someone you'd wanna trust around somethin' valuable I guess, let alone preparing food outside of their view."

Sharla knew where he was going with this. Growing up, Gideon was one of the few foxes she knew during her life spent in Bunnyburrow, and each time, she always noticed how differently everyone would treat him. Teachers would often be more strict and punishing toward him, other children would avoid him, mostly on the instruction or warning of the grown-ups. Although, she often just attributed it to him being a miscreant.

"Gideon," Sharla started, "I know what you mean. I've seen how other animals treat foxes, even here at the Air Base. I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"Yeah…" Gideon said, sullenly, "But, no need for you to be sorry, darlin'. Like I said, I'm used to it. Just something that I had to live with, it is what it is. Although I s'pose I deal with it a lot better than I used to."

Sharla mentally agreed with that, smiling. "So why does Rosco get to you?"

"I s'pose I could ask you the same thing about you and this Godart fella," Gideon said slyly.

Sharla blinked, realizing the game Gideon was playing. Gideon was a fox after all.

"C'mon, I told ya my troubles," Gideon pressed, "Tell me about what's goin' on."

Sighing, Sharla relented. She told him everything. How from day one in the Air Front, Godart was there, tormenting her. In the background at first, but the higher in rank she rose, the more she shined, not only as an officer, but as a bright and passionate engineer, the more in her face he got.

Despite seeing less of him since getting her own room in the officers' quarters, and away from the barracks, where he still resided, she still would run into him. And it wasn't just him; he would spread rumors, lies, and cultivate bad intentions toward her from the other airmammals.

"Why didn't ya tell me before?" Gideon asked, empathetic towards her probable answer.

Sharla let out a light huff, "I was embarrassed." She let her upper body softly fall back into her quilted bed. "I thought I had this Air Front life handled, I guess."

"For the most part, sounds like ya do. Ain't no shame in having a few loose hairs."

"Godart is a bit bigger than a loose hair." Sharla snickered.

"So I guess we're both gettin' bullied, huh?"

Sharla grumbled in agreement.

The rest of the conversation went on into the night, both finding comfort in knowing that they had shared their troubles, and both having a problem in common. How they would both handle their respective problems was an ordeal for another day. For now, they would talk about cooking, Bunnyburrow, and other things. Anything that would keep their conversation going.

* * *

 _A few days later_

 _Thursday, July 31st, 20X4_

 _Evening_

 _Sharla's room_

Sharla slid out of her shop overalls, they were dusty and grimy, showing proudly the signs of a hard day's work. While she mostly worked at a computer, collaborating with other subordinates, she often worked hands-on with a few mechanical or electrical prototypes that the machine shop would build for her.

She laid down on her bed with a hardy groan. Her wool and skin were dirty, oily from working with machinery. But she had worked hard today, so she earned the right to lay on her fresh smelling sheets. Dirty, sweaty, and in need of a shower, she lay there in a pair of boxers and a tank top.

Just before her shift in the engineering bay, she had drills. The drill master was tough on her, making her lift sandbags while the others continued on without. She would climb the nearby mountain trails, crawl through mud, and underneath the barbed wire beds that were set up in an off-base obstacle course.

Drills were non-mandatory for officers, and despite the treatment from the drill master, she kept attending. Sharla found wearing her body out, almost to the point of nausea, was oddly _therapeutic._

Being part of the Air Front for nearly three years now, she was used to the tougher lifestyle. Mostly everything erupted into a physical tussle, or a verbal assault, laden with swears, regarding one's mother or other such nonsense. Having much more muscle than she did in high school, she was more or less able to hold her own if any roughhousing were to break out, or if someone did indeed insult her mother. Something she never thought she would see herself doing when she was younger.

She had told Gideon as much over the year as they began talking over the phone more often. At first, he was quite unbelieving, not really able to see Sharla in such situations. And it was true, those types of interactions were more or less reserved for the alpha male. But as Sharla would put it, the life of an Air Front enlistee was very much that of the alpha male. Becoming an officer didn't much change that aspect for Sharla. While being around more officers than enlistees was a given, she still found herself with more than a handful of enlistee subordinates.

With a heavy sigh, Sharla slumped down onto the bed. She pulled her phone from her pocket, scuff marks from the run-in with Godart a few days prior clearly visible. She rubbed over one of the marks with a hoofed thumb. A faint sound of her work-worn hoof came from rubbing against the scratched texture of her once smooth phone.

She wanted to call Gideon, but it had only been a few days since their last conversation. Surely another call wouldn't hurt, right?

As she pulled up her contacts, Gideon being listed near the top, right underneath her parents and her brother, her hoof hovered over his icon. After a moment, she pressed it.

"Hey there, Sharla," Gideon picked up quickly, like he always did.

"Hi, Gid," she grinned.

She always looked forward to her conversations with Gideon, especially when she was in her worn out state, direly in need of a cool shower. Hearing his voice, his gentle, homely, and comforting voice made everything seem alright. Like she wasn't so far from home after all.

They talked for a while about nothing in particular, not much was new with Gideon, and not much was new with Sharla. It had only been a few days after all. And while Sharla didn't intentionally avoid talking about Godart, she secretly wished that Gideon would bring up the subject. Maybe say something comforting, or encouraging. And eventually, Gideon obliged.

"H-hey, darlin' listen…" Gideon started again after a brief pause. "About that Godiot fella."

"Godart," She corrected, snorting in amusement at the mispronunciation.

"I been thinkin', the way he treats you, the way he talks about you to everyone behind your back. That ain't so much differn't from the way I treated ya."

"Oh, Gideon, no." She said, "Let's not compare you and him, you're not like that anymore."

"R-right, right," He hastily agreed, "B-b-but what I'm sayin' is, you're stronger now. Much stronger. And I ain't never met this guy, but I'm willin' to bet you're stronger than he is."

Sharla thought for a moment, feeling warmed by the compliment. "Well, I wouldn't say that, I'm a sheep and he's a pronghorn buck. It doesn't take much for him to out-muscle me— I'm not going to fight him if that's what you're saying." She said playfully.

"Nah, I didn't mean in the physical sense. Although, you are a lot more um… _built_ than ya used to be."

"Gideon, let's not turn this into a honey-licking contest."

"O-oh, I'm… wait, a what now?"

Sharla snickered, "It's an Ibexan saying, I s'pose. It's when two mammals get stuck in a conversation where they compliment each other."

"Ah, gotcha." Gideon laughed, "Yeah, I reckon we don't want that. B-but anyway, back to what I was sayin'."

"Right."

"That Godart fella ain't treatin' ya right." Gideon said, his voice showing a sincere concern, "…Promise me somethin'."

"What is it?"

"Don't let nobody treat ya like I did. Promise me, OK?"

Sharla sighed, a slight pause followed before she responded. "Gideon, I… he's not…" She paused, and contemplated lying, to say that it wasn't so bad. But it was, and could she really lie to Gideon?

"I know sometimes it's hard, ya know?" Gideon filled the silence. "To stand up to mammals bigger'n you, and sometimes there doesn't seem like a peaceful solution and no one's around to help. B-but I know you, ya always were strong, and going to Ibexas just brought that out in ya more."

Sharla didn't quite know what to say to that. It was difficult dealing with Godart's constant harassment, that much was true. But why had she let it go on for so long if she was really that strong? Maybe there wasn't a good answer to that either. But Gideon was right, it was time to put a stop to the cycle, and rise above it.

"Sweetheart," Gideon resumed, "ya didn't move off to Ibexas to be told by mammals like him that ya weren't good enough. I'm tellin' you now that ya are."

Sharla took in a breath, then spoke, "I am… aren't I?" She smiled warmly.

" _So promise me._ "

And suddenly, the strength she held within was all too apparent. "I promise."


	8. Days of Thunder

**Edited by** Jeinu, Lothar Hex, Mr. Manchas, Erinnyes and DrummerMax64

 **2/18/2018:** Added edits by DrummerMax64 :) Also moved back the events of the first few scenes by a week to allow more time to pass before the 11th of August.

* * *

 _Saturday, August 2nd, 20X4_

 _Noon_

 _Percheron Airbase, East Mess Hall_

Sharla only occasionally ate in the chow hall, considering she normally cooked for herself. But due to long nights this week talking with Gideon, she had neglected her meal prep.

So here she was, having a plate of moderately tasty red lentil curry and rice. Since making the promise to Gideon a few nights ago, she had since attempted to go to the base's more public areas more often. She would no longer be afraid of Godart. No longer try to avoid him. This was her home too, and she would not be harassed. The cycle would end the next time he tried her.

And sure enough, Godart found her. Or perhaps, she had known where he normally sat, and had positioned herself when she knew where he would also be. And yet she found herself second guessing this plan as she heard the sound of his voice, not too far away from her own table.

"The only reason she made officer is because of that idiot captain of hers." As she heard him say this, she heard other enlisted in the chow hall utter words of warning.

"Dude, what are you doing? Don't talk that way about an officer!"

"You're disrespecting your direct command, are you crazy? She's sitting right over there!"

"She never does anything about it," Godart spoke a little louder, as if to taunt her, _dare_ her to do anything about his behavior, "she's just a meek little sheep in an officer's uniform."

That was it, no more thinking, she made a promise; Godart was disrespecting her. And it was going to end. Now.

She stood from her chair.

"Godart," Sharla said sternly, she briskly walked up to him.

He slowly turned around, as if to try to intimidate her. But no longer, she would not have this.

"Yes, ma'am?" He said, showing her a fake respect. A grin showed on his face, as if to challenge her to do anything.

He was a full head taller, and who had more muscle was anyone's guess. The tension in the room grew as the immediate area surrounding Sharla and Godart went quiet.

"Are you questioning my ability as an officer, Airmammal Godart?" She spoke, unflinching. Her chest puffed out slightly, and she forced herself to take deep breaths.

"No, ma'am," He said, his smile unmoving. "I was simply telling my buddies here that I would've made a grand officer."

"Who knows, maybe you would have." She nodded, "Maybe if you got your antlers dislodged from your rear and bothered to even apply yourself. Maybe if less effort was put into being a pain in my ass and more into being an upstanding enlistee would have done you some good."

The other airmammals that watched intently slowly let out sounds of approval, goading, and incredulity. They had never seen Sharla stand up to Godart, nor anyone else on the base like that.

Godart stepped forward, his smile faded. "With all due _respect,_ ma'am. I don't ever recall them letting sheep into the Air Front. Maybe they let you in because you were so good at brown nosing Captain Daviden. Maybe I'm not the one stuck up an ass."

More hoots, even whistling now. Sharla felt the anger well up within her. She clenched her hooves, but reminded herself to stay calm.

"Sounds like you're disrespectin' a superior officer," Sharla said, her southern drawl showing through slightly, "Am I hearin' you right?"

Godart allowed his grin to return at this, "Well I'll _be_ ," He mocked her accent, "Looks like you really are a no-good country sheep after all. Maybe that's where you should've stayed. _Lieutenant._ Lamb Chops."

Sharla got what she wanted: clear proof, and witnesses of Godart's insubordination. Maybe it was time to retreat for now. She turned and began to walk away. Was it the right decision to do so? Sharla had no mind to think about that right now, it was either turn around or punch Godart right in his mouth, and Sharla was no fighter.

"Tch." Godart spat, before proclaiming much too loudly, "Just like a sheep; no _spine_."

Sharla stopped walking again, hearing the voices of her fellow officers and airmammals. In the Air Front, at least in the _Ibexan_ Air Front, none would interfere, no one would stand up for her.

"Is she just going to let him talk to her like that?"

"Isn't she an officer? No way she's letting him off."

It was now or never. Sharla's chance to put Godart in his place. It was time to take action, to put a stop to the cycle herself. It wasn't fair, but nothing in life ever is. That goes especially for the Ibexan Air Front. Just like before, there was no time to think.

"Sit against the wall." Sharla commanded.

There was a pause.

"What's that?" Godart asked.

Sharla turned to face him once more, face stoic. "You heard me, Airmammal. I'm sick of your attitude. Sit against the wall and drive. Now."

Taken slightly aback, Godart huffed, "You gonna make me?"

"I'm giving you an order," Sharla stated, "Are you disobeying?"

He appeared to take a moment to collect himself before stepping toward Sharla, almost threateningly. The room was now deadly silent. "Now let me make one thing clear: I'll take orders just as well as any airmammal. But it'll be the day whenever I start taking orders from a no-good country piece of trash _sheep_ —"

Sharla didn't know what would come after those words, or if Godart was finished. Before she knew it, she stood before him and rammed her right hoof, her stronger hoof, into his abdomen. He let out an abrupt gasp and leaned forward. Without a second to recover, Sharla took advantage of his leaned-over form, and grasped onto the collar of his uniform.

She had pulled him off the floor by the scruff of his uniform, and adrenaline coursed through her. She let out a deep groan as she forced her body to do the impossible. The muscles in her back and arms flared, and after only a few seconds they ached and throbbed from carrying so much weight. Yet she held him in the air, unfaltering, his hooves barely touching the ground.

She showed nothing of this fatigue on her face, only an expression of warning and controlled aggression.

His eyes grew wide as he realized what had happened. He grunted and his mouth fell slightly open. His arms grew slack.

"I told you to sit against the wall," She said again, walking a few steps over to a pillar that extended to the tall ceiling of the chow hall. It wasn't the wall, but there was no way Sharla would be able to walk all the way there while carrying Godart. "Now sit." She commanded, pushing his back into the pillar and letting him fall.

"I-I-I—" He stammered, still recovering.

"I don't recall asking you to say a goddamn thing." She shoved a hoof sharply down on his shoulder to put him into a seated position, causing his antlers to scrape along the pillar. It was a standard holding exercise. But in this case, Sharla would be using it as a punishment for him.

"Now drive," She instructed, reminding him once again that she was in control, and correcting his posture as he tried helplessly to stand up. The onlooking fellow airmammals let out suppressed hoots and hollers. Whether they were cheering for Sharla or just wanted to see a fight, she had no attention to spare them any thought.

She spotted an empty paper plate from a table nearby, dirty from whatever food was eaten off of it. After quickly snatching it, she handed it to Godart, and guided his hands into a 'driving' motion. A rather undignified position as he pretended to sit in an invisible chair and drive with a flimsy plate in his hooves acting as a steering wheel. The only thing helping him stay up was the pillar behind his back and the strain in his thighs.

"You ain't gonna move till I say you can move. You get me?" Sharla said as she leaned in, " _Ya done hurt my feelings_ , Airmammal. And I don't care much for bullies. I trust this is the last time we're going to have this problem and you're gonna sit against this wall and have yourself a nice Sunday drive 'til I tell you to stop. Is this _country sheep_ right in assumin' as such?"

Godart stayed silent, staring at the crusted plate he held out in front of him, his face filled with regret. A chunk of some unknown vegetable covered in cheese sauce dripped down onto his leg.

"Don't make me ask you again, Airmammal Godart," she almost shouted.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He shouted back, still keeping his eyes on the paper plate.

Sharla said nothing more. She stood and began to walk away, not meeting the eye contact of any of her onlookers. The voices began to pick up; first there were comments of incredulity, then shouts, and finally… laughter.

The adrenaline still coursed through her as she left the chow hall, leaving Godart behind as she emerged into the bright Ibexan day. The heat warmed her face, she wanted to shout, to cry out in emotion. But she resisted. She would celebrate when she was sure that Godart would trouble her no more. In the meantime, she would be sure to come relieve him from his undignified exercise later. Surely.

Sharla had not forgotten about him as he sat there, driving for hours. She had, however, made sure to do the rest of her errands before coming back to relieve him of his punishment.

 _Perhaps I overdid it?_ She thought as she drove her duffels full of freshly done laundry back to her quarters.

As she returned to the nearly empty mess hall that evening, she was actually surprised to see him still there. His legs were quivering heavily, despite his pained effort to hide it. Another officer was there, a mongoose.

The mongoose had stood there, watching the insubordinate Godart to ensure that he did not defy Sharla's orders.

Sharla apologized to the mongoose officer, but he stated that he was "more than happy to enforce her orders". He then gave her an encouraging wink.

The mongoose left, and after a while, Sharla relieved Godart of his punishment. As he left, legs shaking as they took him on his way, he did not speak, nor did he look at her. Whatever emotions he was feeling were hiding behind his stoic expression. Sharla returned the gesture, and returned to her quarters without a second word.

Today. Today was a good day.

* * *

 _The next night_

 _Sharla's room_

"Ya did _what_ now?"

"I made him drive a paper plate and sit against a pillar for four hours." Sharla said, trying to suppress her pride. "Oh, and it was in front of a full mess hall of other airmammals."

"W-w-well heck," Gideon said over the phone, flabbergasted. "Sound like you put him in his p-place, then? You d-d-definitely sound much cheerier than ya did earlier this week!"

"Eh, I'm sure I haven't seen the last of him." Sharla shrugged, "But at least I feel a lot more confident about dealing with him now. You were right, Gid. I just had to show him that he couldn't walk all over me."

"R-right, that's good, yeah." Gideon said, his tone was unsure. "You, uh… ya ain't gonna get in trouble for beatin' 'im up?"

"Hmm, I might! Who knows," she replied, brushing off the notion.

Gideon wasn't sure what to make of that response. She had definitely told him stories of rough housing, and other alpha male-style interactions in the Air Front.

"Oh, Gid," Sharla snickered, filling in the silence, "I didn't 'beat him up'. He wouldn't do the drill I ordered him to do, so I had to… remind him that I was his superior officer. And sometimes, at least in Air Front culture, that needs to get a little physical. That's just how life here is."

"Uh…" Gideon thought for a moment, still unsure how to take this information. "Well ya did punch— uh S-sure, if you say so. Is it like that everywhere? In all branches of armed forces?"

"I don't know," Sharla admitted, "I've heard that this is just the way Percheron is. The culture of Ibexas mixing in with Air Front culture. But I hear that every base is different."

"Huh…"

"Are you— um… _disappointed_ that I handled it that way?"

There was a pause. Gideon thought about how to answer that question as Sharla waited.

"No, n-no I ain't." Finally came the answer, "It's just kinda strange hearin' that's how you solve disputes in the Air Front. Call it culture shock I guess. I-I-I'm proud of ya, darlin'! Really!"

Sharla allowed herself a smile at that, but couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Gideon was holding back something. She decided to let it go for now.

"I suppose all of this works out anyway," Sharla continued, "I just found out earlier today that he's transferring to be in my engineering unit."

There was a slight pause, "He's _what_ now?"

"I'll be his direct commanding officer starting next week."

"S-so he decided to transfer to your team _before_ or _after_ ya put 'im in his place?" Gideon asked, rather perplexed.

"I don't know if it was him deciding to come to my team voluntarily or if…" A thought crossed her mind; could it have been Captain Daviden? Is that what he meant by 'dealing with a certain, toxic enlistee?'

"Sharla? Ya still there?" Gideon asked.

"Uh, y-yeah." She replied, returning from her thoughts. "It's nothing."

"W-well, I don't think it'll be too big of an issue, right?" Gideon said, trying to be encouraging. "Are ya worried about him transferring under you?"

"Nah, I think I can handle him now."

"A-ah OK, then!" Gideon's voice was a bit off, and his stutter seemed to worsen. "H-hey, l-l-look I gotta run. N-nice talkin' to ya."

"Oh, alright then." Sharla said, trying not to pay too much mind to Gideon's sudden change in demeanor. "Good night, Gid—"

The call ended.

Sharla looked for a moment at the home screen on her phone as the call duration display faded from view. Strange.

Sharla furrowed her brow as she let her hoof fall to the bed, allowing her to stare softly at her ceiling. Gideon normally wasn't so quick to end their calls, maybe he was in the middle of cooking something? Normally their calls lasted quite a lot longer than this.

Thoughts quietly marched through Sharla's mind, until she quieted them. It was probably nothing… surely.

But then, another question remained: what would she do for the rest of the night?

* * *

A few days passed. Sharla hadn't seen Godart at all. Almost like he was avoiding her. The base was large, but not large enough that Godart would have trouble finding her. It was strange. Her suspicions that he was seeking her out just to harass were solidified, but not quite confirmed.

And what to make of Gideon's change of demeanor? Nights passed, and he had not called her. She could have called him to be sure, but she chose not to. As if to test his response to her attitude the other day.

Sharla was no stranger to insecurity. She had felt it her whole life, with mammals all around her dictating what she could or couldn't be, whether it was vocalized or not. And while she felt confident and steadfast in her ability to handle problems that stood in her way henceforth, she couldn't help but feel some creeping insecurity of how Gideon found her newfound aggressiveness.

Gideon is just a hypocrite, he used to solve his problems by being aggressive in his youth. _Why should I be any different?_

I'm sick of everyone telling me that a sheep needs to be a sheep. _Don't I have the right to stake my defiance?_

Godart is just another naysayer, he was just jealous. _Aren't you proud of me for standing up to him? I thought that's what you wanted!_

Thoughts like this coursed through her for the next few days, as if some alien force took control of her mind and injected this sudden insecurity.

And thus, her two new dominant thought processes battled in her mind.

Surely she was overreacting. A simple byproduct of the adrenaline felt by standing up to her greatest rival.

Rival? Was that truly who Godart was? He had never strived to improve himself, make himself presentable for promotion. At least, that was Sharla's perception.

Did she cry in the few days that Gideon had not called her? Maybe. But one constant made itself apparent during these torrential few days: Sharla missed the sound of Gideon's voice. To what extent, even she was unsure. All she knew was that she lay in her bed each night, waiting for his call, nary the nerve to initiate the call herself.

The last few days seemed to be just a myriad of questions. All of these questions tormented her, for she had no answers to provide herself.

 _Please call me, Gideon._ She begged as she watched her phone, waiting for his usual call.

 _Just call_ ** _him_ **_, you idiot._ She chided herself. But she found that she could not.

 _Why does it matter so much if you talk to him tonight or not?_ She asked. But found that she had no answer.

The call never came.

Tears. Small ones. She felt them nonetheless.

She was confused. But answers would come soon. Whether she wanted them or not.

* * *

 _Days later_

 _Beartino's Bar and Grill_

 _Evening_

 _Tuesday, November 11th, 20X4_

The smell of Ibexan cuisine filled the air. Sharla identified the smell as some sauce that was used to douse fried chicken. It smelled spicy, and oddly of vinegar. She had never tasted it, since she never actually ate chicken, and she wasn't curious enough to taste the vegetarian version.

Instead, Sharla sat at the bar with a pint of beer. It was half drunk, and the foam that sat on the top clinged to the insides of the glass.

She let out a quiet burp, and the smell of alfalfa and alcohol filled her nostrils. As she looked around the bar, she couldn't help but feel… out-of-place. There weren't many patrons, being rather early on a Tuesday night. The noise from what few patrons there were carried well over the hard surfaces of the bar, creating an undecipherable drone and making it sound more packed than it was. The tinted windows didn't let in much sunlight, but from what she could see of the outside, it was around sunset.

Large TVs played with closed captioning. The bar was much too loud to hear the show that was playing on all of the sets. So she returned her gaze to her beer, and took another drink.

Why was she here? She normally never came to the bar alone. Usually she would come with some friends from the airbase. But today, she decided to venture into town by herself.

Talking with her brother earlier that day, she asked where he normally went to relax, not really admitting the fact that she needed somewhere to be alone and think. She had known that he frequented bars, and was unsurprised when he suggested one to her. Not having any other ideas, she decided to go to Beartino's. Sharla noted that her brother seemed rather intent on knowing when she would be going, and which Beartino's it was. Gareth had been asking rather strange questions lately. Although admittedly, so had she.

So here she was, alone, arms crossed on the bar top with a half pint of beer in front of her. Which she stared sullenly at.

"Did I do the right thing?" Sharla spoke to no one in particular, not that the noise level of the bar would have permitted anyone to hear her anyway.

As she pondered this, she knew that she felt good for being able to push back, to be able to prove that this country girl deserved her commissioned officer status.

But still, the way Gideon hesitated when she asked if he approved. It was understandable that he would find the culture on the Ibexan Airbase to be quite a bit different from what he knew back in Bunnyburrow. But who knew what Gideon really thought of what Sharla did.

Was that really the reason why she was here? Maybe it was just the stress of learning that Godart would soon be directly under her command. Did he make the decision to transfer under her or was he given that assignment? If he did make the decision, was it before or after she laid down her authority?

Maybe she was there for many reasons. In either case, she did feel herself calm down quite a bit from the drink.

"S'cuse me?" She asked, trying to get the passing barkeep's attention. The brown wolf stopped. "Can I get another?" She gulped down the last of her current beer and placed the glass back on the bar. "Pint of Golden Claw, low carb."

The wolf gave a grin down to her and nodded. As the wolf bartender filled the glass with the frothy substance, Sharla looked around the bar for a place to sit. The wolf placed the refilled mug in front of her.

Sharla thanked the bartender and got up from her seat, then headed toward a table near the corner of the room. The only other mammals near that part of the bar was a group of mice and hamsters on an elevated platform embedded into the wooden wall. It was complete with its own separate bar and they were much too enraptured with a tiny large-screen TV. They would leave her be.

Was it the hard work week in the shop that made her weary? Possibly. Although, there was a certain someone on her mind. As she placed her beer down on the hardy wooden table, she pondered on how Gideon was suddenly at a loss to continue their conversation in their last phone call.

Maybe she was just putting too much thought into it; a weary mind tended to wander after all.

A while passed, but not such a long while that her beer went flat, or otherwise less desirable. She simply drank it slow, and the limited light that came in from the tinted front windows began to dim until it finally left, leaving the bar illuminated with only its ambient interior lighting.

The bar slowly grew more populated, but it wasn't so noisy, now that Sharla claimed her own empty corner.

Sharla finally downed the rest of her beer, as it now reached the edges of what she would consider a drinkable temperature.

"Excuse me, get you another?" A female voice said.

Sharla brought her muzzle out of her mug and looked up toward the source of the voice.

A wolf— no, much too small to be a wolf. To Sharla's side stood a mammal who was more or less the same height as herself. A fox. A stark white fox.

"Um, I just noticed your drink was empty," The white fox said after a beat. "Was just wondering if you wanted company."

Sharla noticed that the fox was carrying two mugs, one in each paw.

"S-sorry," Sharla shook her head. She was unsure what the fox was really after, "I'm not looking for a date."

"No, no!" The fox laughed, almost cackling, the way foxes do, "I'm just here to relax, I promise." She held out one of the mugs of beer, offering it to Sharla. "Misery loves company, right? I heard you were drinking Golden Claw?"

After a moment, Sharla gave a sincere smile and accepted the drink. Maybe a friendly stranger to talk to was just what she needed right now. The fox gave a relieved expression and took an adjacent seat.

"I'm Sharla," she explained, holding out a hoof. "Airmammal Lt. Second Class. But don't call me that."

"Zacharia," The fox said, shaking Sharla's hoof with a paw. "But just call me Zach."

Sharla nodded and took a drink from her newly refilled beverage.

"So," Zach crossed her paws together on the table in front of her, "what brings an Air Front gal out to a bar by herself on such a lively night?"

"Oh, not so much." Sharla shrugged, looking elsewhere in the bar. "S'pose I'm not as adjusted to base life as I thought I would be."

Zach gave an empathetic grin, "I know what you mean. I don't think I'm quite adjusted to this territory."

Sharla took some notice of her accent at this point; it wasn't Ibexan, that much was for sure. It didn't sound familiar either. Could it have been Zootopian?

"Just visiting Ibexas?" Sharla asked.

"Hmm, yes." Zach nodded, "Not going to be here long, just here on… business, with my boyfriend."

Sharla hummed in acknowledgement.

"So how about you?" Zach asked, putting a paw up to her chin as if she was about to partake in girly gossip. "Why're you here?"

"In Ibexas?" Sharla asked, "Well, I'm here because when I was in high school I thought it would be cool to join the—"

Zach giggled, then shook her head. "No, no. I meant why are you here at this bar? You look pretty lonely. Although I can guess now that you're not native to Ibexas."

"Hmm," Sharla said, starting to feel the effects of her drinking. "N-no. I'm from Bunnyburrow…" She took another drink, rather liking the feeling of her growing intoxication. "And I'm here at this bar because I'm... frustrated."

Zach partook of her own drink before responding. " _Frustrated_." She nodded. "I suppose that's why a lot of mammals come here, huh?"

"I take it you're frustrated about something, too?" Sharla asked.

The white fox finished off her drink and slid the glass toward the middle of the table. She made an odd expression as she tapped on the wooden surface with her claws. Nodding, she admitted, "Yes, you could say that."

Sharla wasn't quite sure how to continue the conversation after that. After all, a strange fox, who expressed no interest in a date, brought her a free drink and came up to sit alongside her. Zach was not part of the Air Front, that much was true.

Zach seemed to notice Sharla's uncertainty, and filled the silence, "I'm looking for something." She sighed, leaning back in her chair.

The waiter came by, gesturing towards Zach's glass. Seeing her shake her head, the waiter left the table.

Zach continued, "—And, feel free to stop me at any time and tell me to bugger off. But my boyfriend is looking to join the Air Front, I can't seem to talk him out of it."

"Oh? Why are you trying to talk him out of it?"

"I dunno," Zach shrugged, "I guess I don't know much about it. That's why I thought I'd ask; what do you think of the Air Front? Are you happy?"

Sharla thought the wording of the question was odd but shrugged it off.

"It's one of the most life-changing decisions I've ever made." She smiled, her answer was doubtless, "I mean, it's not for _everyone,_ of course. But I don't think I'd be where I am today without it."

Zach, impressed by her answer, nodded. "You're familiar with the conflict between the two sponsor corporations of the Air Front; BCP and DewLabs, correct?"

Another odd question, Sharla furrowed her brow at this. In truth, she rarely looked into corporate politics. But since the Air Front was privatized, it was difficult to remain ignorant of the news forever.

"I suppose I've heard a thing or two," Sharla said, not really interested. "Something about one of them possibly going bankrupt and the other engaging in some shady business deals with terrorists."

"So, you know that the fate of the Air Front rests completely with the outcome of those two corporations. Not to mention the fate of the territories those corporations have control of."

Sharla took a long drink from her beer. This talk about the corporations who ran the Air Front and the others which supported it bored her, and in her inebriated state, she made no effort to hide this fact. Politics and Corporatocracy were very much the lowest on Sharla's interests.

Fortunately, Zach caught onto this. She cleared her throat, "I guess my point is… I'm worried about my boyfriend's future. And as uncertain as the future is for the Air Front, I don't know if that's something I feel comfortable him getting into."

Sharla nodded, a reasonable concern. But she didn't really have an answer for her.

"Let the corporations do what they do." Sharla slid her empty beer mug toward the middle of the table; it clinked against Zach's. "If your boyfriend wants to be an airmammal, I think you should support him. Even when the future is uncertain— the future's _always_ uncertain— but… I can be certain of myself. Being in the Air Front taught me that."

"I take it you're very loyal to the Air Front, then?" Zach clasped her clawed fingers together on the table.

Another odd question.

"I am _very_ loyal to the Air Front." Sharla narrowed her brow, "Zach… is this really still about your boyfriend?"

Zach gave an odd smile at that, her demeanor seemed to shift. She looked down toward her clasped fingers, "I… I love N—, my boyfriend. But sometimes I feel that he's going down the wrong path. Like his attitude, his cynicism, will only lead him… lead us, to a dark future."

Sharla found an odd sympathy in this. Why? A good question. But she would have plenty of time to ponder this. After all, the night was young and the beer need only be summoned.

"Have you told him this?" Sharla asked.

Zach paused for a moment, confirming to a waiter that both mugs were to be refilled, after a quick nod from Sharla of course.

"I think I've run _out_ of ways to tell him," Zach spoke solemnly. "I feel like… like I'm begging him…"

"To not join the Air Front?"

"It's more than that," Zach admitted. "The lifestyle we both lead… it's like you said: the future is uncertain. But I don't think I can feel certain about myself either."

"What do you mean by that?" Sharla asked, confused. Although it wasn't the first odd thing that Zach said. The waiter clinked their mugs down onto the table in front of them.

"Oh," Zach shook her head, tittering. "Nevermind me. What about you? Air Front sheep all alone on a weekday, looking sullen at a bar. You must have a story to tell."

Sharla huffed, "What's to tell?"

"That depends on how long you plan on being here," Zach said, "and, how much you want to tell a stranger."

Sharla thought for a moment, turning the beer mug around with a hoof. The condensation on the outside of the glass dripped, despite the beverage within reaching room temperature.

 _I don't know._ She thought, _What is this I'm feeling? I'd rather be talking to Gideon… But…_

Sharla downed the rest of her beer.

"OK…" Sharla said, after a quick breath.

Was it it the alcohol that made Sharla tell her story? Or was it the strange loneliness she felt? Maybe both. One thing was for sure, Sharla did not feel like her usual self, and she noticed as the months went by, that she wanted to talk to Gideon more and more. The friendship they shared _meant_ more and more, as the days went on.

The good part of an hour must have gone by already, but most bars made it hard to tell what time it was. Zach listened intently, nodding and smiling when Sharla would tell her story. The events that led to an unsuspecting lamb, sitting alone with her Golden Claw in the middle of a sparsely patronized sports bar and grill on a weekday night.

"Sounds like he means a lot to you," Zach said knowingly, "Gideon."

"I _guess_." Sharla pursed her lips a bit. She was feeling more than a tad inebriated. Maybe it was time to stop the drinks, how many had she had by now? The waitress had taken all of their empty mugs, so it was difficult to tell. She found herself gesturing more with each response, and even a bleating warble slipped into her voice as the intoxication took her composure. "Well, here I am, a li-ittle sheep, a long way from home. Thi-i-inking she can become an astronaut _when she grows up_. Li-ike developing prosthetics is somehow going to help her get into space… A-a-and worrying about what _some country fox_ back home thinks of her."

Zach took her credit card out of the bill sleeve that the waitress had brought.

When did that come by? Sharla had not noticed. She suddenly felt guilty for allowing Zach to pay for all the drinks that they shared.

"Sharla," Zach said, returning her attention to the drunk lamb. "I may not look it, but I'm a tad older than you are. And I've been around long enough to know a few things. I'll help you out a bit."

Sharla furrowed her brow, "Um… huh?"

Zach took a napkin from the center of the table and clicked the pen that was provided in the checkbook left by the waitress. She began to scribble something.

"What are you—" Sharla began.

"Here," Zach turned the napkin over and slid it over to Sharla. She then stood from the table. "It was nice meeting you, Lt. Blanc. I hope we meet again."

And with that, Zach briskly took her leave. Sharla was unable to respond quickly enough to reciprocate her goodbye. After a moment, she looked down at the napkin, wondering what Zach had written that she couldn't just tell her herself.

Turning over the napkin, she found these words:

 _Gideon sounds like a sweet, young mammal. Tell your fox how you feel._

 _Tell him how I feel?_ Sharla pondered. _What does—_

And just like that, as though all the alcohol in her system vanished, her eyes filled with a certain clarity, and her wool-less skin tingled with goosebumps.

Was it true? But Gideon was a fox— what would her parents think, what would the world think, what would her squad mates think, what would _Gideon_ think?

Questions, many, many questions flashed in her mind. They were not hers, they were foreign. Thoughts that did not truly have a home within her. She allowed them to pass by without a second glance.

For she was focused on one revelation. It was the beginnings of something. Something quite extraordinary— at least to Sharla. How long had it been so? She did not know. But she could no longer deny:

Sharla Blanc has feelings for Gideon Grey.


End file.
